India hopes to build domestic smartphone brands. Nothing’s CMF wants a share of that

Nothing's co-founder and chief executive officer, Carl Pei, has announced plans to spin off the company's CMF sub-brand into a standalone Indian entity. The new company will be majority-owned by Indian shareholders and headquartered in the country, with CMF retaining a stake and continuing its partnership. Pei's goal is to create a global consumer electronics brand from India, emphasizing the importance of product engineering, R&D, and intellectual property.

The Indian government has introduced the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) to encourage domestic smartphone brands and domestic design and R&D. Eligible companies can receive incentives for meeting specific criteria, such as being incorporated in India, having Indian citizenship in management control, and possessing in-house R&D and design capabilities.

Currently, India manufactures nearly all mobile phones sold domestically and is the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer by volume. However, the country has struggled to establish a globally competitive consumer electronics brand, with Indian brands' market share falling from nearly 50% in 2015 to less than 1% in 2025.

Pei believes that India has the necessary manufacturing infrastructure but lacks globally competitive consumer electronics brands with substantial in-house engineering capabilities.