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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home4/scienrds/scienceandnerds/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/28\/much-ado-about-nothing\/<\/a><\/br> Smartphone sales are in decline<\/a> as handset makers grapple with saturated markets and a tough consumer economic climate. But some are betting on a future where new approaches in design and tech will still find resonance with users. Nothing<\/a>, the London startup behind the \u201cPhone\u201d smartphone, has closed an investment of $96 million \u2014 funding that it will be using to continue scaling its business and lineup of devices, starting with its next smartphone. The Phone (2) \u2014 in keeping with its naming scheme \u2014 is due to launch in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Highland Europe is leading the round, with previous backers GV (Google Ventures), EQT Ventures and C Capital also participating. Swedish House Mafia is also getting a strategic stake, one that\u2019s already being put to work. Nothing is teasing features for the new Phone (2), and yesterday it announced<\/a> that it will have customizable \u201cvisual\u201d ringtones, with one of the sound packs for the feature composed by the electronic\/house music supergroup.<\/p>\n This investment brings the total raised by the company to $250 million \u2014 including two rounds of crowdfunding totaling some $11.5 million. Nothing is not disclosing its valuation. (We\u2019re trying to find out and will update as we learn more.)<\/p>\n The round, critically, is the biggest raised to date by the company \u2014 which, before this, closed a $70 million Series B in March of last year<\/a>. From what we understand, Nothing had no shortage of inbound interest, despite the double pressures of crunch time in the smartphone market and the ongoing startup investment drought.<\/p>\n Part of the reason for that has been its metrics. Sources close to the company confirm to us that it made $200 million in revenues in 2022 and is already on track to exceed that this year. It has also now sold 1.5 million devices \u2014 a figure that covers one handset and two editions of its ear buds. Handsets have been the majority of that at 800,000 phones sold, from what I understand. (For comparison, in February, CEO and co-founder Carl Pei told us<\/a> that the company had shifted 1 million devices.)<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last two years, to be able to do all of that in this market, it\u2019s a testament to what this team can achieve,\u201d Tom Hulme of Google Ventures said in an interview. (Hulme also sits on the board of the startup.)<\/p>\n The new Phone device, which is lined up for a July 11 launch<\/a>, will be a key part of Nothing\u2019s strategy to grow. The Phone (1) had a limited release \u2014 namely, it did not launch in the U.S. \u2014 because of radio band support. The Phone (2) fixes that and will be offered in the U.S. market. Initially at least, that launch will not be in partnership with any handset makers, we understand.<\/p>\n In terms of Nothing\u2019s future product roadmap, Pei has told us in the past that there will definitely be more hardware form factors to come, without detailing what those might be.<\/p>\n While some might wonder if Nothing might produce a response to Apple\u2019s upcoming Vision Pro and other efforts in areas of VR and XR, that may not be the next product to come. The startup has a very active community of nearly 46,000 people on Discord<\/a> who not only chatter about current products but also suggest concepts for what Nothing might build in the future. At least one of these \u2014 a smartwatch<\/a> \u2014 was recently shared by Nothing with a hint to \u201cwatch this space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCarl Pei\u2019s Nothing raises something \u2013 $96M \u2013 ahead of the launch of its Phone (2)<\/br>
\n2023-06-29 22:53:03<\/br><\/p>\n