London-based consumer tech company Nothing has raised $96 million in its latest funding round ahead of the launch of its second smartphone, Nothing Phone 2. The round was led by growth-stage tech fund Highland Europe, with participation from existing investors Google Ventures (GV), EQT Ventures, C Capital, and Swedish House Mafia, the house music supergroup. This latest funding brings Nothing’s total financing to $250 million, which includes $11.5 million from over 8,000 private investors in the community funding round. As part of the deal, Highland Europe partner Tony Zappalà will join Nothing’s board.
Famous Indian backers like Kunal Shah (founder of Cred), Bollywood filmmaker and producer Karan Johar, former Team India cricketer Yuvraj Singh, fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, digital content creator Ranveer Allahbadia, and singer Jasleen Royal have supported the Chinese-Swedish entrepreneur and co-founder of OnePlus, Carl Pei, who founded Nothing in 2020. The funds raised in this round will be used to expand Nothing’s product and technology portfolio.
On July 11, Nothing Phone (2) will reportedly go on sale. The device will feature the new Nothing OS 2.0 with a redesigned user interface. It will be manufactured in India, specifically for the Indian market.
In a statement, Nothing CEO Carl Pei expressed confidence in meeting the demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry. He stated, “With this new round of financing, we’ve never been better positioned to realise our vision to make tech fun again.”
Last year, Nothing made its debut in the smartphone market with the release of the Nothing Phone (1). Positioned as an affordable premium device, it offers three variants: 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB of storage, 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage, and 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage.
Nothing will be able to further support its goal of providing consumers with distinctive and enjoyable tech experiences with the additional funding it has secured, taking a significant step towards realising its vision in the fiercely competitive consumer tech market.
