Carl Pei’s Nothing Ties Up With Qualcomm for New Snapdragon-Powered Devices

Nothing on Wednesday announced that it had completed a Series A extension funding of $50 million (roughly Rs. 376.20 crores) from strategic and private investors including Swedish DJ duo Axel and Christofer Hedfors and Sebastian Ingrosso. The London-based company led by OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei also announced its partnership with Qualcomm Technologies to use its Snapdragon platform for powering future tech devices. Nothing started its journey by introducing the Ear 1 true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds earlier this year.

The funding will be used towards research and development (R&D) in preparation for Nothing’s entry into new product categories, the company said in a statement.

Nothing has not revealed details about its next offering yet. However, the company suggested that it would expand its product lineup by adding new connected devices through its partnership with Qualcomm.

“Seamless connectivity is paramount to achieving our vision of a future without barriers between people and technology,” said Carl Pei, CEO and Co-Founder of Nothing. “We look forward to working alongside Qualcomm Technologies and our strategic investors to achieve Nothing’s next phase of growth.”

Qualcomm has a range of Snapdragon chipsets that Nothing would be able to use to enable wireless connectivity on its future devices. It is, though, unclear whether the young company is ready to enter the fast-growing smartphone market directly or has plans to bring some Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the initial stage.

“We are excited to help Nothing bring to life its highly anticipated ecosystem of tech products,” said Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice-President and President, Qualcomm Europe/MEA. “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.”

Carl Pei left OnePlus last year to start Nothing as his new venture. In July, the company brought the Nothing Ear 1 as its first device. The earbuds offer an eye-catchy transparent build alongside offering features such as active noise cancellation and cross-platform support.

In the two months since their sale began, the Nothing Ear 1 earbuds have surpassed global shipments of 100,000 units. They also received a price cut during the recent Flipkart Big Billion Days sale.