CMF to spin off from Nothing as independent Indian company

Nothing CEO Carl Pei has announced that CMF, the company’s budget-focused sub-brand, will spin off to become an independent entity headquartered in India. The new company will be majority-owned by Indian shareholders, with Optiemus Infracom reportedly taking a 51.1 percent stake. Nothing will remain a significant minority shareholder and strategic technology partner, continuing to share software, engineering resources, and supply-chain infrastructure.

The restructuring aims to transition CMF from a sub-brand managed from the UK to a standalone company capable of full-scale research and development (R&D) within India. Rather than focusing solely on local assembly, CMF intends to establish indigenous capabilities in areas such as chassis development, camera systems, antenna tuning, and software optimization. This move is designed to leverage India’s massive smartphone market and its growing electronics ecosystem.

Pei cited the historical decline of Indian domestic brands—which fell from nearly 46 percent market share in 2015 to less than 1 percent by 2025—as a reason to prioritize in-house engineering over white-label manufacturing. CMF has set an ambitious long-term goal of reaching annual shipments of 100 million devices to gain greater influence over the global supply chain.