Nothing's Carl Pei announces $100 mn manufacturing JV in India after talks with Ashwini Vaishnaw. All details here
Nothing CEO Carl Pei met Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss plans to expand the company's presence in India by establishing a joint venture. The $100 mn venture will create 1,800 jobs and further strengthen India's clout in the global smartphone industry.
Carl Pei, CEO and co-founder of the consumer technology brand Nothing, has revealed plans to expand the company's footprint in India. Following a meeting with Union Minister for Railways and Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pei announced a manufacturing joint venture with Optiemus, one of the country's top technology manufacturers.
Through this JV, Nothing aims to contribute significantly to India's tech ecosystem by investing $100 million and creating more than 1,800 jobs in the country over the next three years, Pei wrote in a X (formerly Twitter) post.
Key details of the plan
After discussing the plan with Vaishnaw, the company has decided to establish CMF, its sub-brand, as a subsidiary headquartered in India. The goal is to build it into the country's first global consumer tech brand. “With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to bring this vision to life,” he said.
After the meeting, Pei praised the government's ‘Make in India’ initiative and described Minister Vaishnaw as a driving force behind India's thriving technology sector. "There is no doubt; India will play a key role in shaping the future of the global smartphone industry," Pei said.
The purpose of the company to enter a joint venture is to localise its production, along with ensuring better supply chain management and faster innovation cycles, ANI reported.
India's smartphone exports soar
According to the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), India's smartphone exports in August 2025 increased by 39 per cent year-on-year, countering claims of a decline. The body also said that drawing inferences from month-on-month comparisons without context can be misleading, ANI reported.
According to ICEA, exports grew from $1.09 billion in August 2024 to approximately $1.53 billion in August 2025. Shipments to the United States saw a remarkable increase, more than doubling to $965 million in August 2025, which is a 148 per cent rise from $388 million in August 2024.
This growth aligns with a decade-old trend, as India's mobile phone exports have surged 127 times in a decade, growing from ₹1,500 crore to ₹2 lakh crore, as informed by the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada, to the Lok Sabha in July.