Consumer Tech Startup Nothing Locks $70M in Series-B Financing

Nothing, a global consumer tech brand, announced on Wednesday its completion of round-B financing totaling $70 million, co-led by EQT Ventures and C Ventures, with additional participation from GV, Future Shape, Gaorong Capital and Animoca Brands.

Nothing was established in the United Kingdom in 2020 by co-founder Carl Pei, who is also the co-founder of Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus. The new investment brings the total raised by Nothing since its inception to $144 million. Nothing released its first product, “ear (1),” carbon-neutral true wireless earbuds in August 2021, shipping over 400,000 units.

Nothing currently has a team of about 300 people, including design director Adam Bates, the former design director of electronics manufacturer Dyson.

According to Carl Pei, who is now Nothing’s CEO,  the company hopes to build an ecology that can compete with Apple in the future. “We have engineering and supply chain from China, and industrial design in Europe and America,” he added.

In addition, Nothing hopes to establish its own high-end and trendy tonality. Its “ear (1)” product initially was sold on StockX, a trendy commodity trading platform, then gradually penetrated into offline high-end stores and other electronic products stores.

Technological R&D alongside other partners will be one of Nothing’s next priorities. Last October, Nothing announced its cooperation with Qualcomm.

SEE ALSO: Consumer Tech Brand Nothing Raises $50 Million, Announces Cooperation with Qualcomm

The funding will be used to create new product categories, recruit talent and grow operations at its new London Design Hub. Nothing’s team is expected to expand to 500 people this year. Techcrunch reported on March 2 that Nothing is developing smartphones and plans to announce this plan in April.