Nothing closes $200M Series C led by Tiger Global, plans AI-first device launch

Nothing smartphone startup has announced today that its series C round has closed $ 200 million, led by the investment agency Tiger Global. With this round, the Consumer Electronics Agency is now worth $ 1.3 billion.

Other investors in the round include Venture Outfits such as GV, Highland Europe, Europe, Equity, latitude, I2 BF and Tapestry. The company, founded by Carl PEI, has previously established the Chinese smartphone manufacturer for a high-performance device at competitive prices-also received new strategic support from Nikhil Kamath and Qualcomm Ventures. Takes new funds Nothing total funds More than $ 450 million.

“Carl and team are re -imagining hardware and software with an AI overlay for establishing their products for the next era of personal technology.

The company has been betting on design differences so far and it has served the startup well. Nothing says that it has been more than $ 1 billion in total sales earlier this year. One of the primary investors in the startup told TechCrunch that they were happy with the company’s growth tractory and profit road.

The startup says so far, it has spent time to launch a product within a few months and to create a supply chain and infrastructure for shipping worldwide. Significantly, the recently launched phone (3) – which shows the company’s signature transparent design aesthetic and unique user interface – it was only the second handset to accept it General delivery to the United StatesThe

PEI says he wants to target his brand to the next generation users who may probably ask for alternatives outside the arrivals.

“The way we separated our brand and separated our products is truly resonant with our customers We Launch of the phone (3) In July

Highland Europe’s partner Tony Japal, who is an existing investor at the company, says the company has made its promise and has a place to grow in this huge industry. He said that nothing else is a recognized name of the industry, which has its own benefit in creating talent and creating a chain relationship.

AI Vision

The company wants to create an operating system with AI and personalization features that may expand beyond the smartphone. Currently, we only saw a few glims of AI in the operating system SearchesA smart search function that helps users find data across their device. Startup is a former executive from the linktry and the founder of Bento (a platform that produces personalized landing pages for social media profiles) from the linktry to lead the AI ​​service effort.

Japal says that the challenge in creating this national operating system is both customer experience and belief problems.

“I think the challenge of creating an effective AI-Firm experience is not unique for anything. It is more than technical challenges; AI features must reach a level where users are not double-cheeks,” he said.

There are companies like Apple Has effectively struggled to integrate AI features On their operating system. Nothing, the difficulty is to find the right balance between innovation and auxiliary when performing the disadvantage AI features.

PEI believes that smartphones remain as the best way to supply AI and they will be “dominant form factor for all customers AI applications” for at least three to five years, he said during a conversation with TechCrunch in July.

With the announcement of the fundraising, the company says they plan to launch an AI-Firm device next year. However, many success stories in the AI ​​hardware space have not been. AI hardware startup Human was sold in HP After the AI ​​PIN devices are fighting, and AI Assistant Agency Rabit is working to improve his R1 device, publishing a Update new software Recently the company was not satisfied with the first repetition.