1. Blog
  2. Investors
  3. Nothing’s real founding year

Nothing’s Real Founding Year

By Carl Pei, Founder & CEO at Nothing. 30th Mar 2022

Nothing final blog header

Nothing Technology, an exciting member of the Crowdcube Funded Community, are back for their second raise. We caught up with CEO Carl Pei about their progress since their first raise and their plans for the future:

We were promised a future of seamless connectivity. Of tech that made our lives better and easier, not harder and more complicated.

But we’ve gone off track. Once tech used to mean momentum and excitement; now it breeds scepticism and negativity.

Nothing is here to bring back the optimism we once felt.

So tech can stand for progress and passion again.

Our goal? To create an ecosystem of iconic products and services that are so seamlessly woven into people’s lives, it feels like nothing.

Getting Ready

We want to make products we’re proud to share with our friends and family.

But to get to our first product, we first needed capital.

We kicked off in 2020 with a seed investment round of $7M from renowned industry veterans such as Tony Fadell (Principal at Future Shape & inventor of the iPod), Casey Neistat (YouTuber), Kevin Lin (Cofounder of Twitch) and Steve Huffman (CEO of Reddit).

In February 2021, we followed this up with a Series A round of $15M, led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) to fuel the expansion of our team and operations, further invest in R&D and the launch of our first product. Then, in October, we secured a further $50M in a Series A extension to further our research and development in preparation for our entry into new product categories.

Our First Product

Our first product, the wireless earbuds Nothing ear (1), was one of the most anticipated launches of 2021. With an iconic transparent design and top specs, it offered a stagnant market something different.

The incredible response from our community and critics alike beat all our expectations.

We sold in over 40 countries at iconic retailers like StockX, Selfridges and KITH. To date, we’ve shipped over 450k units.

Our team is now 300-people strong, with talents from the fashion, design and tech industries.

So that was all year (1). But it was just the warm up.

What’s Coming Next

It was always meant to be about year (2).

And that starts with our first smartphone, phone (1). It’s a breath of fresh air for the market. And we can’t wait for you to experience it this summer.

It’s the beating heart of our open ecosystem; a connected world of Nothing products and products from other world-leading brands.

And to power it all, we recently unlocked approximately $70M in a Series B funding round, co-led by EQT Ventures & C Ventures. That brings our total raised to around $144M. Our incredible partners include Google, Samsung & Qualcomm, whose Snapdragon platform will form the foundations of our ecosystem.

Be part of Nothing

This is the beginning of a long journey, and we want to bring you with us. That’s why we’re giving you the opportunity to invest and become a shareholder in Nothing.

Last year, our first community investment round closed in a record-breaking 54 seconds after fulfilling our $1.5M allocation. A lot of people missed out, so this time, we’ve increased the allocation to $10M so that more of you can join.

You won’t be just a shareholder in a company. You’ll be an integral part of our community, helping guide where we go as a company.

That includes access to our private community forum – a space where you can collaborate with like-minded people, bring your ideas to the table and get exclusive benefits. One of you will also get the chance to be elected as our Community Board Observer to make sure the community is always heard, and never let behind.

There’ll also be additional rewards, which we’ll reveal the details of once the funding platform opens. And like last time, these shares will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

You can be one of the first to invest, before we open it to the public on 06 April.

Register for exclusive early access here before 04 April 14:00 BST so you can join our round.

Let’s build Nothing together.

Investments of this nature carry risks to your capital.

Update (02/08/2022): Nothing successfully overfunded their campaign with Crowdcube, raising €6,345,579.11 from 7468 investors, over x6 their original campaign target of €1,000,000. They have since launched their Phone (1).

Risk warning

Investing in start-ups and early-stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Crowdcube is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Crowdcube once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. Please click here to read the full Risk Warning.

Crowdcube Capital is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) . This page has been approved by Crowdcube. Pitches for investment are not offers to the public and investments can only be made by members of crowdcube.com on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the companies concerned. If this page contains details of historical performance, investors should be aware that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Further restrictions and Crowdcube's limitation of liability are set out in the Investor Terms and Conditions.

Investment opportunities are not offers to the public and investors must be eligible Crowdcube members. Please seek independent advice as required as Crowdcube does not give investment or tax advice.