Japan did it with brands we all know, Korea took over years later, and China went through the same process in the last decade: as soon as a country learns to manufacture technology on a large scale, it ends up launching its own global brands. Now it's India's turn. The country is the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer, has a very young population, and incredible talent in software. However, it still lacks that major, globally recognized electronics brand. And that's where this move comes in.
Nothing has decided to take a striking step: to separate CMF and turn it into an independent company with its own headquarters, team and R&D in India. Carl Pei has reported that Nothing will retain a portion of the shares, but operational control and the majority of the capital will be transferred to Indian ownership.
The mistake of 2015: assembling is not the same as designing
To understand this shift, we need to recall what happened in India a little over ten years ago. In 2015, local brands sold almost half of the country's mobile phones. One of them even outsold Samsung. It seemed like the beginning of a new era, but it was short-lived. In just two years, international brands overtook them because they offered something that was previously unavailable there: genuine engineering.
Local brands buy a pre-made design from a catalog, change the casing, add their logo, and that's it. When the market demands advanced cameras, an optimized operating system, or premium materials, that formula falls apart. By 2025, the market share of Indian local brands had fallen below 11%3%.
Our own R&D is what makes the difference:
- Design the structure, heat dissipation, and durability of the phone.
- Develop the image processor and choose the camera sensors.
- Maintain your own operating system with constant updates.
- Adjust the antennas and negotiate custom components with suppliers.
If the external manufacturer handles all of that, the brand simply chooses products from a catalog. And when you can only choose what already exists, your only way to compete is to lower the price until a cheaper alternative comes along.
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To create our own industrial fabric
When brands demand the impossible from suppliers (a brighter panel, a thinner bezel, a more durable mechanism), they force the entire local industry to step up its game. That's what happened in China: suppliers went from making simple components to leading the way in manufacturing OLED displays or top-tier camera sensors.
In India, the current situation is interesting: the 99% processor in the phones sold there is already manufactured within its borders. The assembly infrastructure is ready, and the market absorbs more than 150 million mobile phones annually. However, the intellectual property and technical design remain external. What's missing is a leading brand that will demand a leap in quality from local suppliers.
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The new direction of CMF
CMF began as Nothing's budget-friendly design line, becoming the fastest-growing smartphone sub-brand in India by 2025. With this move, it transitioned from a London-based division to an independent company.
The idea is for CMF to leverage the starting point provided by Nothing (its operating system base, brand image, and supplier connections) to begin building its own technical capabilities within the country. The ultimate goal is to achieve a massive volume that will allow it to directly influence the global consumer technology supply chain.
If you want to stay informed about the latest news and updates on Nothing and CMF products, you can follow me on X (@ruudhesp), Instagram (@ruudhesp) and TikTok (@nothingtec).
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