AI investments are booming- and Nothing, the new-age phone company, has put its name in the hat.
They are producing AI-native devices, which sounds like the natural evolution of our smartphones. To this end, Nothing has raised $200 million. This funding round was led by Tiger Global, and partners like GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, 12BF, Tapestry, Nikhil Kamath, and Qualcomm Ventures.
“Products that are available to the user at the moment of need, paired with intelligence that turns understanding into action. This is a very exciting time, imagining devices that capture context across modalities and generate interfaces on demand, shaped by what the user is trying to accomplish,” said Carl Pei, CEO and Co-founder of Nothing.
The devices Nothing creates are poetry in motion; however, their recent launch, The Nothing Phone 3, was criticized for its price point and specifications.
Some critics argued that they focused too much on the external design and less on the internal specs- something that Nothing’s fans are passionate about.
However, Carl Pei is known to take criticism and improve on his designs. The 2a was a fantastic phone for its price range and was beautifully designed. The organization deserves the hype behind it, and with their track record, these AI-native devices would be beautiful to look at.
But they must balance this with internal specs and features to match it.
Nothing has to find a harmony with its aesthetics and functionality- again achieved by the 2a. Its software was created to complement the hardware. This means the organization knows what to do and might be assessing how the market reacts to different kinds of offers.
But what is AI-Native?
While investors are excited about AI’s potential, how will these AI-native devices function, and what do they mean?
The reports of an AI bubble have made investors cautious.
Because the question is: beyond the software, how can AI be used to augment and transform hardware?
Any organization that comes up with a definitive answer will be counted in the same league as OpenAI, a pioneer. But that is yet to be seen.
