Nothing (company)

London-based consumer electronics manufacturer

Nothing Technology Limited

Company type| Private
Industry| Consumer electronics
Predecessor| Essential
Founded| 29 October 2020; 4 years ago (2020-10-29)
Founder| Carl Pei
Headquarters| London, England

Area served

| Worldwide

Key people

* Carl Pei (Co-founder & CEO)
* Jesper Kouthoofd (Founding partner & CEO of Teenage Engineering)
* Tim Holbrow (CFO)

Products| Smartphones, Earphones
Brands| Nothing, CMF
Revenue|  £49.60 million (2023)[1]

Operating income

|  £-59.31 million (2023)[1]

Net income

|  £-59.35 million (2023)[1]
Total assets|  £11.90 million (2023)[1]
Total equity|  £-102.57 million (2023)[1]

Number of employees

|  56 (2023)[1]
Website| nothing.tech

Nothing Technology Limited (stylised as all caps) is a British consumer electronics manufacturer based in London.[2] It was founded by Carl Pei, the co-founder of the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. The company’s founding vision was to develop consumer electronic products that combine simplicity, transparency, and distinctive design to improve everyday user experience.[3] On 25 February 2019, the company announced Teenage Engineering as a founding partner, mainly responsible for the brand's design aesthetic and its products. Investors in the company include Tony Fadell of iPod, YouTube personality Casey Neistat, GV (formerly Google Ventures), EQT Ventures, and Highland Europe.[4] Nothing's first product, "Ear (1)", was launched on 27 July 2021. In 2024, Nothing doubled its annual revenue to more than $500 million and crossed $1 billion in lifetime sales.[5]

## History

[edit]

Nothing was founded by Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, who left the company in October 2020 and raised $7 million from investors including Tony Fadell, Kevin Lin, Steve Huffman, and Casey Neistat.[6] The company was officially announced in January 2021,[7] and soon acquired the brand assets of Essential Products.[8] It also partnered with Teenage Engineering, the Stockholm-based electronics company known for its product design.[9]

The company launched its first product, the transparent ear (1) wireless earbuds, in July 2021.[10] It later secured $50 million in funding and announced a partnership with Qualcomm.[11]

In 2022, Nothing raised $70 million in Series B funding,[12] and introduced its first smartphone, the phone (1), featuring a distinctive LED-based Glyph Interface.[13] The company also opened a physical retail store in London’s Soho district in December.[14]

In 2023, it released the ear (2) earbuds and previewed smartphones using Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipsets.[15] The company also launched "CMF by Nothing", a sub-brand focused on affordable, design-led products.[16]

In November 2023, Nothing faced backlash over a messaging app that claimed to offer end-to-end encryption but was discovered to store messages in plaintext. The app was withdrawn within 24 hours.[17]

Shortly afterward, the company raised $96 million in a Series B1 funding round led by Highland Europe.[18]

By 2024, Nothing had surpassed $1 billion in lifetime sales, doubling annual revenue to over $500 million and selling more than 7 million devices.[19] In India, it became the fastest-growing smartphone brand, with over 577% year-on-year growth.[20] The CMF Phone 1, featuring a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor and modular customization, launched in July 2024.[21]

On March 4 2025, the company introduced the Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro, a pair of mid-range smartphones powered by Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. Alongside the release of the phones came a new software feature known as “Essential Space”, an AI powered tool designed to assist the user with various organisational tasks.[22] This feature was also included on the budget CMF Phone 2 Pro, announced on 28 April 2025, and launched on May 6 2025.[23]

The company is expected to reveal the flagship Phone (3) as a successor to the Phone (2), along with over-ear headphones, dubbed Headphone (1), at a launch event on 1 July 2025.[24][25][26][needs update]

## Products

[edit]

### Smartphones

[edit]

#### Phone (1)

[edit]

Main article: Nothing Phone 1

Nothing Phone 1

On 23 March 2022, Nothing announced its first smartphone named the "Phone (1)".[27]

The phone runs on the Android operating system and its user interface is named NothingOS. It went on sale on 21 July 2022.[27][28][29][30]

In June 2022, Nothing opened an invite-only pre-order for the "Phone (1)", which reached up to 100,000 registrations on the waiting list.[31] The device, which was unveiled on 12 July in London, features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chipset and transparent design.[32]

#### Phone (2)

[edit]

Main article: Nothing Phone 2

On 11 July 2023, Nothing announced its second smartphone named the "Phone (2)".[33] It was released on 21 July 2023. The software front is covered by Android 13 with NothingOS 2.0 skin on top. The phone comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

#### Phone (2a)

[edit]

Main article: Nothing Phone 2a

Nothing announced its budget smartphone, the "Phone (2a)", on 5 March 2024.[34] It came with the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset running Android 14 and with user interface NothingOS 2.5, a 6.7-inch 120-Hz OLED display, and a 5000 mAh battery.[35]

Phone (2a) surpassed 100,000 units sold in its first day after release.[36]

The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, released in 2024, is an upgraded version of the standard Phone (2a) with enhanced features aimed at improving performance, display quality, and photography capabilities. Key upgrades include a MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro processor for smooth multitasking and better gaming performance, achieving impressive benchmark scores compared to its predecessors.

#### Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro

[edit]

Main article: Nothing Phone 3a/3a Pro

Nothing Phone (3a) and Nothing Phone (3a) Pro were announced on 4 March 2025. Both phones have AMOLED 6.77 inches 120Hz displays, both exist in 128GB and 256GB storage variants, both have the same 5000mAh battery and the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4 nm) chip. The main difference is in camera type (the Pro version has telephoto with 3x optical zoom vs only 2x zoom on 3a variant).[37][38]

#### Nothing Phone 3

[edit]

On 1 July 2025 Nothing launched the Nothing Phone 3, which has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, and a triple 50MP rear camera setup including a periscope telephoto lens. It introduces the "Glyph Matrix", a circular dot-matrix LED interface on the back, replacing the previous Glyph Interface. The Phone 3 debuted with Nothing OS 3.5 based on Android 15, with a confirmed upgrade path to Android 16 via Nothing OS 4.0 later in the year. It was released globally, including in the U.S. for the first time, with prices starting at ₹79,999 in India and $799 internationally.[39]

### Audio products

[edit]

#### Ear (1)

[edit]

The Nothing ear (1)

The Nothing Ear 1, stylized as the "ear (1)", is Nothing's first product. Announced on 27 July 2021, the Ear 1 is a set of wireless earbuds. The earbuds can be connected by Bluetooth and have up to 34 hours of battery life when used with the charging case, and up to 5.7 hours of battery life with ANC off; with 24 hours with the case used and up to four hours for the earbuds themselves with ANC on. The earbuds went on sale on 17 August 2021, at $99/£99/€99.[40][41]

A Black version was also announced on 6 December 2021, and went on sale on 13 December. Nothing also announced on that day that the Ear 1 earbuds are now carbon neutral.[42]

On 18 October 2022, Nothing's CEO Carl Pei announced on X that the Ear 1's price will be increased to $149 starting on 26 October 2022 due to an increase in costs.[43]

#### Ear (stick)

[edit]

Ear (stick) is a pair of earbuds Nothing released on 4 November 2022. It is the second part of the Ear family and a lower tier version of Ear (1), and does not include noise cancellation, transparency mode, or wireless charging. Ear (stick) launched at a price of $99.[44][45][46][47]

#### Ear (2)

[edit]

The Nothing ear (2)

In March 2023, Nothing announced the release of their second-generation earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2). These new earphones support the LHDC 5.0 low latency HD audio codec and come equipped with 11.6 mm speakers, similar to its predecessor. The earbuds were launched on 22 March 2023.[48][49][50]

#### Ear

[edit]

Nothing Ear is a 2024 refresh of the Nothing Ear (2), offering improved features over the Nothing Ear (2), particularly in battery life and sound quality.

#### Ear (a)

[edit]

The Nothing ear (a)

The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds, introduced as a more budget-friendly option, retain many of the core features of the premium Nothing Ear model, such as active noise cancellation (ANC) and clear sound quality. They use traditional polymer drivers, unlike the pricier ceramic drivers in the main Ear line, but still deliver solid audio performance across a wide range of genres. The Ear (a) also has a longer battery life, achieving about 5.5 hours with ANC on compared to 5.2 hours in the higher-end model. Despite a less powerful chipset, the Ear (a) provides a reliable user experience, offering customizable touch controls, in-ear detection, and similar levels of noise cancellation (up to 50 dB).

#### Ear (open)

[edit]

### Applications

[edit]

#### Essential Space

[edit]

Essential Space is an AI-powered content management feature developed by Nothing Technology Limited, introduced with the launch of the Nothing Phone (3a) series in March 2025.[51] Designed to act as a "second memory," Essential Space enables users to capture, organize, and retrieve digital content such as screenshots, voice notes, and photos through a dedicated hardware button known as the Essential Key.[52]

#### Nothing Chats

[edit]

Nothing Chats was an instant messaging application released by Nothing Technology Limited. It was briefly available on Google Play in November 2023 before being withdrawn due to reports of bugs, insecure networking, and reliability concerns.[53][54]

On 14 November 2023, Nothing announced the app had been developed in collaboration with a company called Sunbird and would offer limited compatibility with Apple’s iMessage.[55][56][57] Prior to launch, Android Authority and Ars Technica expressed skepticism about the app’s claims around end-to-end encryption and overall security, citing Sunbird’s track record. Ars Technica specifically warned against sharing Apple credentials with a third party that might not fully grasp the associated risks.[58] On 17 November, shortly after launch, a third-party developer discovered that the app was using a version of a rival open-source project called BlueBubbles but Sunbird failed to procure a TLS certificate so the application was sending users' service credentials via insecure HTTP. The vulnerability could allow a third-party to intercept users' credentials (one at a time) and use them to impersonate the users to read and send messages.[59] On 18 November, a different user reported that the app was sending all media attachments, including user images to error-logging service Sentry, and all data to Firebase, with the data being stored unencrypted in both places. At the time, the Firebase database contained over 630,000 media files. 9to5Google confirmed that anyone can intercept the application's Firebase credentials (from their own device or any other device), log into Firebase and see all other users' past and real-time messages.[60][61] Another party developed a script for downloading this data automatically and published the code to GitHub.[62] Within 24 hours, Nothing removed the app from Google Play.[54][61][63]

### Drinks

[edit]

Beer (5.1%) is a beer created by Nothing Technology. The beer was initially announced on 1 April 2023, and was made available in the UK in October 2023. The drink is brewed by Free time Beer Co., which is based in Wales.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f "Full accounts made up to 31 December 2023". gov.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
2. ^ Alex Pell (30 June 2022). "Can nothing's cheaper handset really rival the iPhone?". Standard.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
3. ^ Nick Statt (15 July 2020). "Nothing's Mission to Reinvent Technology". The Verge. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
4. ^ "Nothing phone quirky design aims to light up market". BBC News. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
5. ^ Mark Gurman (15 January 2025). "Phone Startup Nothing Raises Funding, Crosses $1 Billion in Lifetime Sales". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
6. ^ Singh, Manish (9 December 2020). "OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei raises $7 million for his new venture". TechCrunch.
7. ^ Porter, Jon (27 January 2021). "OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's next company is literally called Nothing".
8. ^ Wilde, Damien (15 February 2021). "Essential is now officially owned by Carl Pei's Nothing Technologies".
9. ^ Porter, Jon (24 February 2021). "Nothing taps Teenage Engineering to design upcoming products".
10. ^ "Nothing launches its Ear 1 wireless earbuds with a transparent design". 27 July 2021.
11. ^ "Carl Pei's Nothing raises $50 mln, partners with Qualcomm". 13 October 2021.
12. ^ "Nothing locks $70M Series B financing" (Press release). 9 March 2022.
13. ^ "Nothing phone (1) Coming Summer 2022" (Press release). 23 March 2022.
14. ^ Weatherbed, Jess (9 December 2022). "Take a look at Nothing's first permanent physical store".
15. ^ "Nothing announces updated Ear (2) wireless earbuds". 22 March 2023.
16. ^ "Nothing announces budget-friendly sub-brand". 5 August 2023.
17. ^ "Nothing's iMessage app was a security catastrophe". 20 November 2023.
18. ^ "Nothing closes $96M financing round". 3 October 2023.
19. ^ "Phone Startup Nothing Raises Funding, Crosses $1 Billion in Lifetime Sales". Bloomberg News. 16 January 2025.
20. ^ "Nothing Is the Fastest-Growing Smartphone Brand in H1 2024".
21. ^ "CMF Phone 1 is being manufactured in India". 11 July 2024.
22. ^ "Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro launched". 15 March 2025.
23. ^ Hamish Hector (28 April 2025). "Nothing reveals tempting CMF Phone 2 Pro pricing and specs alongside bargain wireless earbuds". TechRadar. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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36. ^ Trinko, Myroslav. "Nothing sold 100,000 units of Phone (2a) in its first day". gagadget.com. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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43. ^ Moon, Mariella (18 August 2022). "Nothing raises the price of its Ear 1 buds to $149 citing increased costs". Engadget. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
44. ^ Sparrow, Mark. "Nothing Launches Ear (stick) Wireless Earbuds With A Stylish Cosmetic Twist". Forbes. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
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54. ^ a b "Nothing Chats pulled from Play Store after investigations find serious security flaws". Android Authority. 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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