CMF Goes Independent In India
Nothing spins off CMF budget brand into an independent India-headquartered company targeting 100 million sales.
Anonymous
Key Points
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Carl Pei said Indian brands accounted for nearly half of smartphone sales in 2015 but later lost ground to foreign companies with stronger capabilities in areas such as cameras, design and hardware-software integration.
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Pei said that although about 99% of smartphones sold in India are manufactured domestically, much of the underlying intellectual property remains overseas because Indian companies have largely been purchasing existing, off-the-shelf technology. “Some components are made locally today, but most of the underlying IP still sits offshore,” he said.
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The CMF initiative builds on a $100 million manufacturing joint venture between Nothing and Optiemus Electronics, announced as part of the companies’ effort to establish local production for CMF and Nothing devices.
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India offers CMF access to a domestic smartphone market of more than 150 million units a year, alongside a large pool of software engineers and hardware-development infrastructure.
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CMF’s market performance helped motivate the separation: it was reported to be the fastest-growing smartphone sub-brand in India during 2025, giving the new company momentum as it pursues operational independence.
Nothing, the London-based smartphone maker, is spinning off its budget-focused CMF brand into a standalone company headquartered and majority-owned in India. Nothing CEO Carl Pei announced the restructuring on September 21, 2026, positioning CMF to develop its own engineering, research, and intellectual property while selling products globally. The move marks a shift away from India's reliance on offshore technology: about 99% of phones sold domestically are assembled locally, but most underlying design and patents remain overseas.
Electronics manufacturer Optiemus Group will acquire a 51.1% controlling stake in CMF through its Series A funding round, expanding an existing $100 million manufacturing partnership. Carl Pei said CMF aims to become a global consumer technology company with ambitions to sell up to 100 million smartphones annually. Carl Pei stated: "We're spinning CMF out of Nothing into a standalone Indian company: majority Indian owned, headquartered in India, with its own team and R&D in the country."
India Lost Ground to Foreign Smartphone Makers
Indian brands once dominated their home market, controlling nearly 50% of smartphone sales in 2015. But foreign competitors—mainly Chinese companies—introduced superior camera systems, hardware-software integration, and in-house design. By 2025, domestic Indian brands had collapsed to below 1% market share. Carl Pei explained the problem plainly: "Some components are made locally today, but most of the underlying IP still sits offshore."
CMF's fast growth in India during 2025 gave Nothing confidence that the budget-smartphone niche—which makes up 42% of India's total market—could sustain a new Indian-led brand. The company will now develop localized intellectual property in industrial design, camera engineering, mechanical systems, and software integration to avoid repeating past failures.
Government Push Backs Indigenous Smartphone Design
India's government is actively promoting domestically owned consumer electronics companies to build global brands. The country launched a ₹62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme to incentivize local research, development, and intellectual property creation. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has championed moves like CMF's spin-off as aligned with the Prime Minister's self-reliance vision.
The timing is strategic: India has become the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturing hub, with over 150 million units shipped domestically each year. Yet most value remains trapped in assembly operations. By backing CMF's independence, the government hopes to shift manufacturing into high-value domains like camera tuning, antenna design, and component co-development.
Nothing Maintains Influence While Shedding Capital Risk
Nothing is not exiting CMF entirely. The London company will retain a minority stake and serve as a strategic technology partner, providing Nothing OS, global supplier relationships, and access to its distribution networks. Carl Pei framed the restructuring as empowering India to build its own consumer technology champion while Nothing focuses on its core premium brand.
The partnership with Optiemus Group—expected to create over 1,800 direct technical and manufacturing jobs by 2028—shifts capital expenditure and regulatory burden to Indian ownership while Nothing retains licensing revenue and brand control. This structure allows Nothing to scale CMF's ambitious 100-million-unit annual target without bearing full investment risk in India's competitive market.
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