By Supantha Mukherjee
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -London-based smartphone maker Nothing on Tuesday raised $200 million from a group of investors led by Tiger Global at a valuation of $1.3 billion as it seeks to integrate artificial intelligence in its products.
The global smartphone market is dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung, with just a handful of European companies such as Fairphone and HMD Global trying to challenge the incumbents.
Swedish tech entrepreneur Carl Pei founded Nothing in 2020 after leaving mobile maker OnePlus and launched its first smartphone in 2022.
Since then, the company has also launched earbuds, shipped millions of devices and crossed $1 billion in total sales.
“For AI to reach its full potential, consumer hardware must reinvent itself alongside it,” Pei said in a statement.
“We are starting with smartphones, audio products and smart watches … in the future, our operating system will carry into smart glasses, humanoid robots, EVs, and whatever comes next.”
Existing shareholders GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF and Tapestry participated in the funding round.
The company last raised close to $100 million in 2023.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm. Editing by Mark Potter)
