UK’s Nothing to expand smartphone manufacturing in India through $100 million joint venture

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(Reuters) -London-based smartphone maker Nothing has signed a joint venture with Optiemus Infracom to expand manufacturing in India, the company said on Thursday.

Under the deal, Nothing and Optiemus will invest more than $100 million and create over 1,800 jobs in the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer over the next three years, the company said, adding that it had already invested more than $200 million in the country.

It did not give details on where the facility would be located and its production capacity.

Nothing, founded in 2020 by the Swedish entrepreneur Carl Pei, launched its first smartphone in 2022, and has since expanded into earbuds and other devices.

In July, Pei said the company was the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India, with a more than two-fold year-over-year growth in shipments in the second quarter.

Nothing has at least one other facility in Chennai, south India, that manufactures its smartphones, including the flagship Nothing Phone (3).

Optiemus Infracom, based in north India’s Noida, is an electronics manufacturer for global smartphone brands like OnePlus and Realme.

Nothing’s independent, affordable devices brand, CMF, will establish India as its global base for research, development, and manufacturing, Nothing said in a press release.

The CMF Phone 2 Pro, priced at 15,999 rupees ($180.44), costs significantly lower than the Nothing Phone (3) at 79,999 rupees.

“CMF has been well received by the market since we launched it two years ago. With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to now build it into India’s first truly global smartphone brand,” Pei said in a statement.

Nothing, backed by singer The Weeknd and Google Ventures, recently raised $200 million from investors including Tiger Global at a $1.3 billion valuation.

($1 = 88.6650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)