Nothing, the London-based consumer technology brand, has raised a $96M fundraising round led by Highland Europe, with participation from existing investors GV (Google Ventures), EQT Ventures and C Capital, alongside house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia.
This brings Nothing’s total funding to $250M – just as company crosses 1.5M products sold with over over 450 people across seven offices worldwide.
“In just over two years, we’ve assembled one of the strongest teams in the industry and sold over 1.5 million devices worldwide,” said Carl Pei, Nothing CEO and Co-founder. “It’s clear that there’s real demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry, and with this new round of financing, we’ve never been better positioned to realize our vision to make tech fun again.”
With Nothing Phone (2) set for launch in July 2023, Nothing’s Phone (1), which was launched in 2022 was regarded as one of the most anticipated tech launches in recent times and showcased in Time Magazine’s prestigious “Best Inventions of 2022” list for its innovative smartphone design. In 2023, Phone (1) received the renowned Red Dot Design Award, along with the rest of Nothing’s current product portfolio, including the true wireless audio devices Ear (2) and Ear (Stick).
Phone (2) features a lower carbon footprint than its predecessor as a result of the company’s ongoing sustainability initiatives.
Nothing wants to bridge the gap between the company and its users – driving product innovation by delving deeper into consumer insights through its community feedback programs. To further support this goal, Nothing has held two community financing rounds and attracted over 8,000 private investors. Additionally, the company has appointed a community member as a Board Observer, ensuring that user interests remain at the forefront at all times.
Highland Europe, a London-based venture capital firm focusing on high-potential technology companies, invested based on Nothing’s success to date and future potential. Partner Tony Zappalà led the recent round and will be joining Nothing’s board.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Carl and his team, who share our vision of bridging technology with the younger generation,” added Tony Zappalà, Partner at Highland Europe. “In an industry as challenging as this, it has been quite some time since a new company of this scale and ambition has reached this stage, given the difficulty and complexity of surviving in such a competitive environment. We firmly believe that Nothing has something truly distinctive to offer, coupled with an exceptional team. We are enthusiastic about supporting Nothing as they take on the consumer tech giants and challenge the prevailing norms.”
Key Specs for Nothing (1)
Display
- 6.55” flexible OLED display
Corning® Gorilla® Glass
HDR10+
10-bit colour depth
2400×1080-pixel resolution at 402 ppi
1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
500 nits brightness; 1200 nits peak brightness
60Hz – 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
240Hz touch sampling rate
Haptic touch motors
Capacity
- 8 RAM + 128 GB memory
- 8 RAM + 256 GB memory
- 12 RAM + 256 GB memory
In The Box
- Nothing Phone (1)
Type-C cable
Safety information and warranty card
Screen protector (pre-applied)
SIM tray ejector
Dimensions
- Height: 159.2 mm
Width: 75.8 mm
Depth: 8.3 mm
Weight: 193.5 g
Main Camera
- 50 MP
Sony IMX766 sensor
ƒ/1.88 aperture
1/1.56” sensor size
1 µm pixel size
Focal length: 24 mm
OIS and EIS image stabilisation
Panorama Night Mode
Portrait Mode
Beauty Mode
Bokeh
HDR
Google Filter
Scene Detection
Live Photo
Document Mode
Night Mode
Extreme Night Mode
Night Video
Expert Mode
Panorama
Slo-Mo (120 fps)
Time-lapse
Ultra wide
- 50 MP
Samsung JN1 sensor
ƒ/2.2 aperture
1/2.76” sensor size
EIS image stabilisation
114° field of view
Night Mode
Macro (4 cm)
HDR
Front Camera
- 16 MP
Sony IMX471 sensor
ƒ/2.45 aperture
1/3.1” sensor size
Live Photo
HD Portrait
Google Filter
Beauty Mode
Night Mode
1080p video recording at 30 fps
Video
- 4K recording at 30 fps
1080p recording at 30 or 60 fps
Live HDR at 30 fps
Slo-mo (120 fps)
Night Mode (720p/1080p at 30 fps)
OIS and EIS image stabilisation
Battery
- 4500 mAh battery size
33W PD3.0 wired charging: full charge in 70 mins
15W Qi wireless charging with dual charging support: full charge in 120 mins
5W reverse charging - Only use with chargers compatible with Quick Charge 4.0.
Sensors
- In-display Fingerprint Sensor
Accelerometer
Electronic Compass
Gyroscope
Ambient Light Sensor
Proximity Sensor
Sensor Core
Front RGB sensor
Audio
- 3 high definition mics
Dual stereo speakers
Chipset
- Snapdragon™ 778G+
6nm TSMC process
1xA78 2.5GHz+3xA78 2.4GHz+4xA55 1.8GHz
Adreno 642L GPU
Hexagon 770 AI processor
Splash, Water & Dust Resistance
- IP53
Memory
- RAM: 8/12GB LPDDR5
Storage: 128/256GB UFS 3.1
Face & Finger Unlock
- Unlock Phone (1) using fingerprint or facial recognition. Works with face coverings.
SIM card
- Dual SIM
Network & Connectivity
- Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO
Gigabit 5G dual Mode (NSA & SA) with 4×4 MIMO
5G NR*: Bands n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n77, n78
4G LTE: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41,66
3G UMTS (WCDMA): bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19
2G GSM : 850/900/1800/1900
Wi-Fi : Wi-Fi 4/5/6 and 802.11 a/b/g/, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth 5.2
NFC enabled with Google Pay support
GPS : with A-GPS. Up to dual-band: GLONASS (1), BDS (2), GALILEO (1), QZSS (1)
*5G connectivity may vary based on regional availability and local operator support.
Software Support
- 3 years of Android updates
4 years of security patches every 2 months
Ports
- USB-C
Multimedia
- Audio Supported Formats
Playback: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, MID, M4A, IMY, AC3, EAC3, EAC3-JOC, AC4
Recording: WAV, AAC, AMR
Video Supported Formats
Playback: MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265 (HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM
Recording: MP4
Image Supported Formats
Playback: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, WEB, HEIF, HEIC, DNG
Output: JPEG, DNG
