Alphabet's VC Arm Backs OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pe's 'Nothing' Company

GV, (formerly Google Ventures), the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet Inc, has led a $15-million funding round in ‘Nothing’ the new venture of Carl Pei, the Swedish tech entrepreneur and co-founder of smartphone company OnePlus.

With the new funding, the London-based consumer technology company plans to expand its team and operations. It would further invest in research and development, as well as launch its community and first products in the coming months.

“We are grateful to have a venture capital firm of this calibre help in building Nothing together with us,” said Carl Pei, CEO and co-founder of Nothing. “We plan to aggressively grow the company, in particular, our R&D and design capabilities, to realize our mission of removing barriers between people and technology.”

With the new funding, the company plans to expand its operations in Europe with headquarters in London. It plans to release its first smart devices in the coming months.

“Carl Pei is a seasoned entrepreneur with marketing, hardware, and distribution experience that is key to bringing new devices to market,” said Tom Hulme, general partner at GV. “His vision for smart devices is compelling, and we have high confidence that with Carl’s global mindset, the Nothing team will have a meaningful impact on the market for consumer technology.”

The new round takes the total amount of financing Nothing has raised to over $22 million. Previous investors include notable tech leaders and investors such as Tony Fadell (Principal at Future Shape and inventor of the iPod), Casey Neistat (YouTuber), Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch). The other investors include Steve Huffman (CEO of Reddit), Liam Casey (founder and CEO, PCH), Paddy Cosgrave (founder of Web Summit) and Josh Buckley (CEO of Product Hunt). Indian serial entrepreneur Kunal Shah has also backed the venture.

Nothing also plans to open up for its community and the general public to invest as part of its Series A round.

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