Nothing is spinning off CMF into an independent company headquartered in India and backed by majority Indian capital. Nothing will remain a shareholder and technology partner, giving the former sub-brand access to Nothing OS, engineering resources, suppliers and its global infrastructure.
The move gives CMF greater control over product and component decisions as it develops beyond its role as Nothing’s affordable sub-brand. CMF is also building its own India-based research and development team, with responsibilities extending beyond local assembly.
- Industrial design
- Camera development
- Antenna development
- Software optimization
- Display and chipset integration
CMF’s partnership with Optiemus and planned investments are intended to support local production and create more than 1,800 jobs. Nothing co-founder Carl Pei’s longer-term ambition is for CMF to become a global brand capable of shipping as many as 100 million phones a year.
The restructuring arrives alongside broader changes at Nothing. The company is cutting jobs and consolidating national operations into regional hubs, while preparing a new division focused on AI-native products. Management has denied reports that it plans to shut down operations in specific markets.
CMF will not release a Phone 2 Pro successor in 2026, after rising memory prices made it impossible to maintain a price appropriate for the affordable segment. The company says other products and entirely new categories are in development, but it has not yet detailed what will replace the skipped phone.
