Some announcements feel like business as usual. This is not one of them.

Today, our friends at Nothing announced their $200M Series C at a $1.3B valuation. Not bad for a company that was “just an idea” not too long ago.

Starting a new smartphone company in a world dominated by trillion-dollar incumbents? Honestly, it sounded insane. But then we met Carl. He had already proven he could build products people love, but more importantly, he had that relentless mix of vision, taste and a ‘just-do-it attitude’ that makes you lean in and think: he actually might be able to pull this off.

What makes Nothing special isn’t just the award-winning designs or the fact that their phones and earbuds actually make people excited about hardware again. It’s the bigger vision: creating an AI-native ecosystem where hardware and software finally converge into one intelligent experience, and technology disappears into the background. 

At EQT Ventures, we’ve been fortunate to back Carl and the Nothing team from the early days. And it’s been a ride, from the first product renders (which felt more like magic shows) to today’s milestone. Along the way, we’ve watched the company build not just products, but an ecosystem and a community that co-creates with them. That’s rare.

So here’s to Carl and the entire Nothing team. Congratulations on the Series C! Welcome aboard Tiger Global, alongside our friends at EQT Asia Growth. And a special shoutout to Teenage Engineering for their product alchemy and to Lyle Fong for early support. On to the next chapter, building the future of consumer AI, one transparent device at a time.