Smartphone Startup Nothing Closes Series C Round of $200M Led by Tiger Global

Consumer electronics company Nothing announced today that it successfully closed its Series C funding round, securing $200 million in investment. The round was led by Tiger Global, with other participating investors including venture outfits GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, and Tapestry. The company, founded by Carl Pei, also received new strategic backing from Nikhil Kamath and Qualcomm Ventures. This latest round brings Nothing's total funding to over $450 million, elevating the company's valuation to $1.3 billion.

Nothing has revealed plans to open another community funding round after previously raising $11.5 million. The startup, with a focus on design differentiation, has seen success in its sales, surpassing $1 billion earlier this year. The company's recently launched Phone (3) received general distribution in the U.S., showcasing its transparent design aesthetic and unique user interface. Although Nothing holds less than 1% market share globally, it has captured 2% in its largest market, India, and has shipped 5.1 million units to date, with over a million units shipped in Q2 2025. The company's global expansion has been relatively slow, primarily selling 80% of its units in Asia. Nothing aims to target the next generation of users, appealing to those interested in tech, creativity, and design.

The company is working towards developing an operating system with AI and personalization features. Its recent hire of Sélim Benayat, a former executive from Linktree, reflects its focus on AI services. Despite the challenges of integrating effective AI features, Nothing plans to launch an AI-first device next year. However, the success stories in the AI hardware space have been rare, with companies like Humane being sold to HP and Rabbit continuously working to enhance its R1 device. Carl Pei remains confident in the potential of smartphones as the dominant form factor for consumer AI applications for the next few years.