Prime Highlights-
- Optiemus Group enters Nothing’s Series A round for CMF, securing a 51.1 percent controlling stake as the brand becomes a standalone Indian-owned entity.
- Nothing and Optiemus expand their India tie-up to develop smartphones and intellectual property locally, moving beyond manufacturing into full-scale R&D.
Key Facts-
- CMF’s engineering scope spans industrial, mechanical, camera, software, connectivity and component design.
- CMF logged 83 percent year-on-year sales growth in India, per Counterpoint Research.
Background-
Optiemus Group will join Nothing’s upcoming Series A funding round for CMF, acquiring a controlling 51.1 percent stake in the planned joint venture. Nothing, based in the UK, is spinning the sub-brand into an independently run, majority Indian-owned company, the firms said in a joint statement.
The arrangement marks a pivot away from assembly work, steering India operations toward design, engineering and IP generation. Ownership, manufacturing and research will sit within one Indian entity, letting CMF engineer handsets locally for global markets.
Nothing will remain a shareholder and strategic partner, with Optiemus taking control once regulatory clearances and formal agreements are finalized. The deal builds on an earlier manufacturing tie-up that made India a production hub for both firms’ devices.
Carl Pei, who co-founded and leads Nothing, said the spin-off is meant to build CMF into a self-sufficient Indian operation with its own staff and engineering functions, aiming to realize that vision domestically for global markets.
Through the venture, the companies aim to build what they call India’s first full-stack smartphone engineering operation, spanning industrial design, mechanical, camera, software, connectivity and component work, with resulting patents held locally.
Ashok Gupta, who chairs Optiemus, said India’s role now goes beyond contract manufacturing to building technology, expertise and brands that compete internationally, citing the government’s Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme as a driver of R&D and design growth.
Since its 2023 launch under Nothing, CMF has expanded to over 40 markets and posted 83 percent year-on-year sales growth in India, per Counterpoint Research.