How Carl Pei Built a Smartphone Giant, then Try to Build Another One

Some people just have a knack for creating successful brands every time they try to do so, Carl Pei is one of them. With the tech community patiently waiting for the release of Pei’s new creation, let’s take a look at Pei and how he became one of the most interesting figures in the smartphone world.

Carl Pei was already a journeyman in his younger days. He was born in 1989 in Beijing, China. His family moved to the United States soon after, then migrated to Sweden, where he grew up.

Pei then studied at the Stockholm School of Economics with a Bachelor of Science degree but dropped out of college in 2011 to start his career in the smartphone industry when he transferred back to China.

Even before going back to China, Pei already had the sense of working in a smartphone company, as he worked for Nokia for three months in 2010. After his stint with Nokia, Pei created a fan website for Meizu, which caught their attention. He was then called to work for the same company in 2011 in Hong Kong.

Pei soon worked for Oppo as its international markets manager. This is where he will meet Pete Lau, which will become vital to his ascension to being one of the giants in the smartphone industry.

OnePlus

In December 2013, Pei and Lau co-founded the smartphone start-up OnePlus in Shenzhen, Guangdong.

They soon released the OnePlus One in 2014 to great success, as the 1 million sold units of OnePlus’ first phone greatly exceeded their target of 50,000.

The company enjoyed much success as their phones garnered more attention in June 2017, Pei announced that their OnePlus 5 was their fastest-selling phone ever.

Pei would go on to oversee the design and marketing teams of OnePlus until October 2020, when he announced his departure from the company to start his own hardware venture.

However, according to various rumors around the internet, Pei left the successful startup since he did not like the direction OnePlus as a brand was headed.

This was the time where OnePlus devices started to increase in price and look and feel similar to other smartphone experiences.

Nothing

Carl Pei announced the name of his new venture in January 2021, Nothing. Pei said that Nothing’s mission is to create a seamless digital future.

Nothing is now based in London and has received interest from other notable tech personalities such as iPod inventor Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and Casey Neistat were interested in investing in the company.

Moreover, Nothing announced in February that Teenage Engineering, notable for their OP-1 synthesizer, will be Nothing’s founding partner, and will be responsible for Nothing’s design aesthetic and its products.

Nothing released its first product, the Nothing ear (1) on July 27, 2021, and will be releasing its first phone, the Nothing phone (1) which is slated for release in the summer of 2022. (GFB)