Nothing announces partnership with Qualcomm on products using Snapdragon mobile platforms, $50 million raised in latest round of funding

Carl Pei has been doing a very good job of getting his new startup Nothing off the ground. After leaving OnePlus as a co-founder and ahead of the news that the brand was being absorbed into Oppo effectively as a sub-brand, Pei has bounced back with the successful launch of the first product from Nothing, the ear (1) ANC earbuds. According to Reuters, Nothing managed to shift over 100,000 units of the buds in the first two months after launch.

Pei has now jointly announced that Nothing has partnered with Qualcomm on the development of ‘new product categories’ while also raising US$50 million in the company’s latest round of investment funding. Pei has some impressive backers on board including ‘Father of the iPod’ Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and Google Ventures (GV). 

While specifics of the products in development weren’t announced, it doesn’t take much to read between the lines of the statement from Enrico Salvatori, Qualcomm senior vice-president and president of Qualcomm Europe, to guess what Nothing has in store:

We are excited to help Nothing bring to life its highly anticipated ecosystem of tech products. By combining the power and efficiency of Snapdragon mobile platforms with 5G connectivity across many different categories of devices, we are fostering the development of innovative products that are intended to benefit consumers and deliver richer, more immersive experiences.

It seems safe to say we can expect at least one smartphone from Nothing in 2022 -- the Nothing phone (1) perhaps? If it follows the design language of the Nothing ear (1), it should really stand out from the crowd.

Buy the OnePlus Nord N100 in Midnight Frost from Amazon for just US$179.