CMF by Nothing is going beyond smartphone assembly to develop and manufacture smartphones locally with the Indian electronics manufacturer Optiemus Group from scratch. The expanded partnership will also cover manufacturing, ownership, and research and development (R&D).
The partnership will see CMF and Optiemus work together on a full-stack smartphone development ecosystem in the country. Instead of focusing on assembling devices produced elsewhere, they will contribute to the development of smartphone technologies in industrial design, mechanical engineering, camera engineering, software engineering, connectivity, and component development.
The move is expected to strengthen India's role in CMF's global smartphone operations. From the company’s perspective, it will create an end-to-end R&D capability in India, allowing teams based in India to contribute directly to the design and engineering of future CMF smartphones.
The new development builds on a manufacturing joint venture between Nothing and Optiemus announced in September 2025. That collaboration made India a key manufacturing base for Nothing and CMF products. With R&D now being added to the partnership, the two companies hope to take the relationship even further from the factory level into technology development.
One of the key aspects of the expanded partnership is the creation of intellectual property in India. CMF has said that the intellectual property generated through the new R&D activities will be held locally. This could give India’s engineering ecosystem a larger role in the development of technologies used in future CMF devices, rather than restricting the country’s contribution to manufacturing.
The partnership will cover many important aspects of smartphone engineering. Industrial design will focus on the appearance and physical experience of devices, while mechanical engineering will cover the internal structure and hardware design. Camera engineering will contribute to imaging capabilities, and software engineering will play a role in the user experience and functionality of CMF smartphones.
Connectivity and component development will also be part of the planned capabilities. Together, these areas cover a very broad range of smartphone development from the design of the product to the technology for the finished device.
CMF is also preparing for an upcoming Series A investment round. Optiemus will take part in the funding round and will increase the financial and strategic relationship between the two companies. CMF has said the expanded partnership puts the brand on a path toward becoming a majority Indian-owned independent smartphone brand.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei said India has the engineering talent, consumer market, and manufacturing capabilities needed to build a larger technology ecosystem. He also highlighted the country's growing electronics sector and government support for manufacturing and technology development.
Pei pointed to Nothing’s experience in building design, software, and engineering capabilities and establishing an international consumer electronics brand. CMF will try to apply this to India through its partnership with Optiemus to develop products in India for markets worldwide, he said.
Optiemus sees the partnership as a bigger deal than contract manufacturing. Executive Chairman Ashok Gupta said that the company’s attention is more and more on technology, R&D, and the creation of brands in India. The collaboration is also an opportunity for India to become a leader in the global electronics and smartphone ecosystem, he added.
The improved CMF-Optiemus partnership is also in line with the Make in India strategy to promote domestic manufacturing and boost local product development in technology and electronics. CMF’s latest move of merging manufacturing with design and engineering will give a wider smartphone development ecosystem, which could be more efficient for it to develop in the country.
For Indian consumers, the immediate impact may not necessarily be visible in the form of a new CMF smartphone right away. But the development could influence how future devices are designed, engineered, and manufactured. So India will be even more involved in R&D, intellectual property, and manufacturing as CMF adds R&D and manufacturing into CMF’s product development strategy.
The partnership signals CMF by Nothing's wish to make India more than just a production destination. As the company expands its local engineering capability and Optiemus expands its technology development and ownership, the two companies are laying the groundwork for a smartphone operation that could potentially serve both the Indian market and international markets from India.
