{
  "id": 8953168,
  "title": "Nothing To Spin Off CMF As A Standalone Indian Business",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/nothing-to-spin-off-cmf-as-a-standalone-indian-business",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-21T14:41:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Inc42",
    "slug": "inc42",
    "url": "https://inc42.com/buzz/nothing-to-spin-off-cmf-as-a-standalone-indian-business/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nothing, the smartphone manufacturer, announced it will not spin off its sub-brand CMF (Colour, Material, Finish) as an independent entity. Cofounder and CEO Carl Pei stated that CMF will instead operate as a standalone Indian company, with majority ownership and headquarters in the country. Nothing will retain a stake in CMF, but the two will partner closely. Pei believes India's manufacturing base, market for nearly 150 million smartphones annually, and government efforts to become a global export hub represent a prime opportunity for a brand like CMF. The move aims to develop the engineering capabilities needed to compete globally, as much of the product development and intellectual property currently resides overseas. Pei drew from his experience in China, where local brands that invested in R&D transformed into engineering partners, rather than just contract suppliers. CMF, launched in 2023, offers more affordable, design-focused consumer electronics, including watches, earbuds, headphones, and smartwatches. Pei envisions CMF scaling to 100 million phones a year, becoming a platform that can drive its own supply chain and engineering ecosystem. The spin-off will allow CMF to leverage Nothing's existing product development capabilities, including industrial design, software, camera processing, and supplier co-engineering. As part of the spin-off, Nothing also formed a joint venture with Noida-based Optiemus Infracom to establish India as the global production and export hub for both companies. The JV is expected to invest over $100 million over the next three years in India. Pei sees India as a prime location to build R&D, engineering, and product development capabilities domestically, moving beyond simply assembling phones and increasing domestic value addition. The government's Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), announced in August, aims to expand domestic production, deepen local value addition, and support Indian-owned mobile phone brands.",
  "summary": "In a bid to capitalise on the manufacturing boom in India, smartphone manufacturer Nothing is spinning off its sub-brand CMF…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}