Nothing's CMF goes independent with HQ in India

Nothing’s budget-focussed sub-brand CMF was established in 2023 and it released its first two products in September of the same year. They included a smartwatch and true wireless earbuds priced at $69 and $49 respectively. Since then, the portfolio has expanded quite a bit and now, the sub-brand has become an independent subsidiary with its headquarters in India.

Nothing, through a press release (via 9to5Google) has announced that CMF will operate as an independent subsidiary moving forward. This means it will drop the ‘by Nothing’ branding. Its base for operations, R&D, and manufacturing will be India with a strategic manufacturing joint venture with Optiemus Infracom, established in 1993. Nothing will leverage Optiemus’ engineering and production capabilities in the country. With this CMF will become India’s first global smartphone and smart hardware company. This venture also supports the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-sufficient India) initiatives.

As for investments, Nothing and Optiemus will invest over $100 million to set up manufacturing and exports from India to the world over the next three years. This will create more than 1,800 jobs.

CMF will continue to release budget hardware such as the upcoming CMF Headphone Pro, the fist over-ear headphones from the brand. They will have a colorful design like its other products and the teaser shared by the company shows a Cyan color headphone with replaceable ear cushions. They will also feature a slider and a scroll wheel for controlling volume and playback.

The CMF Headphone Pro will be released on September 29 but pricing has not been revealed at this point.