Nothing's affordable CMF sub-brand is becoming an independent, majority Indian-owned company with HQ and R&D in India. Nothing will remain a minority shareholder. CEO Carl Pei believes India will produce "its own global champions" in tech, following Japan, Korea, and China.

He argues Indian brands lost out in 2015-2017 when foreign brands brought "real engineering" that domestic ones lacked. CMF aims to "build something new, cut cost by removing markup rather than quality, and get better every year." Pei notes that 99% of phones sold in India are made there, calling it "a massive industrial achievement," but insists step two is R&D. CMF was "India's fastest growing smartphone sub-brand" last year, with a target of reaching 100 million phones sold annually.