{embedded type='node/custom_code_html' id='119263'}The startup will form a joint venture with India’s Optiemus Infracom.London-based smartphone maker Nothing, known for its transparent handset designs, is boosting investments in India, targeting Gen Zers in the world’s most-populous nation as it seeks to build the country’s first global phone brand.The unicorn startup outlined its strategy on Thursday, saying it will form a joint venture with Indian manufacturing company Optiemus Infracom , which will invest more than $100 million in the country over the next three years. The U.K. company is also relocating CMF, previously a subbrand, to India, and plans to make the South Asian country its global production and export hub for its products.»The government has been really promoting this ‘Make in India’ program for the last 10 years,« Chief Executive Carl Pei said when explaining why he sees a big growth opportunity in the market.Pei also pointed to the Indian market’s rising maturity and talent. »We see a big opportunity to create India’s first smartphone company or smart-hardware company that can go global,« he told The Wall Street Journal. »It’s never been done before here.«Few players outside China have been able to challenge the likes of Apple and Samsung in recent years in the competitive global smartphone market. While Nothing expects to reach a 2% market share in India this year, the country is its biggest market, followed by Europe, according to Pei.Nothing is betting that its Gen Z consumer base will help it reach new heights.»We have the youngest user base out of everybody in our industry. The average age of our users is 26,« Pei said. »They’re still getting their first phone or second phone. Sometimes they’re a bit rebellious, they don’t want the same product as their uncle and parents, so it’s been a deliberate strategy and it’s working well so far.«Pei himself is no stranger to the industry. He co-founded OnePlus, a Shenzhen, China-based smartphone manufacturer, in 2013. He had worked for Chinese electronics manufacturing companies Meizu and Oppo before starting OnePlus with former Oppo vice president Pete Lau .Nothing, his latest venture, has been rapidly growing since its founding in 2020, and was last valued at $1.3 billion. The consumer-tech company is on course to hit $1 billion in sales this year, doubling from 2024.All exports to markets outside India have been made from China, but the company is starting to export products from both countries, Pei said.In the second quarter, Nothing was the fastest-growing brand in India for a sixth consecutive quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.»There’s really a rise of the middle class right now [in India] and it’s perhaps similar to what we saw in China 15 to 20 years ago,« Pei said. »I believe that a lot of consumer habits and…needs are going to change and that’s the opportunity we’re tapping into.«»Nothing is playing a long game,« said Sheng Win Chow, analyst at Canalys, part of Omdia.The company is trying to grow a loyal customer base for the long term while pushing into AI-native devices and AI-powered services, Chow said. »The short-term challenge is scale.«Manish Pravinkumar, principal analyst at the research firm, said Nothing has delivered one of the fastest scale-ups in the smartphone industry. However, competitive pressures against players such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi are a structural challenge due to their size and research-and-development budgets.Prachir Singh, senior research analyst at Counterpoint, said Nothing might require more partnerships and stronger carrier relationships to help it grow profitably.Pei said the decision to move CMF’s headquarters to India to operate as an independent subsidiary will help the company navigate the competitive market on the ground. He left open the possibility of eventually listing CMF, but said the company isn’t currently actively pursuing the move.»We will need to spend some time and energy to really mature the business before we can put it on the public market,« he said.The priority for Pei now is growth.Profitability hasn’t been the main concern in the past couple of years, Pei said. However, the company’s Ebitda loss has been narrowing consistently as revenue has grown, he said.»The faster you can scale, the faster you have operating leverage and can compete with the bigger players.«Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com
