---
title: 'Director of Business Development at Nothing'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-business-development-nothing-san-francisco-california-t23xtzcn9r2j'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Director of Business Development at Nothing

- **Company:** Nothing
- **Location:** San Francisco California, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-03-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://careers.nothing.tech/?gh_jid=4795364101

## Job description

## About Nothing

Nothing exists to make tech feel exciting again.

We’re building a different kind of technology company, one that puts design, emotion, and human creativity at the heart of everything we do. From the way our products look and feel to how we communicate and show up in culture, we believe technology should make you feel something.

Founded in London in 2020, we’ve grown from idea to global challenger in just a few years. Backed by GV (Google Ventures), EQT Ventures, and C Ventures, and investors like Tony Fadell (iPod), Casey Neistat, and Kevin Lin (Twitch), we’re now sold in 40+ markets with millions of users worldwide.

## About the role

Nothing is building the next generation of consumer technology — AI-native devices with a design-led, challenger brand. The software experiences we're building run on inputs that come from other companies: the models, the compute, the data, and the platform rights underneath every AI feature we ship. Just as our hardware has a supply chain, so does our software — and the deals that secure it shape our product, our economics, and our position in the AI-device ecosystem.

You will own and originate Nothing's software supply chain partnerships, across four fronts:

- AI labs / model access — licensing frontier and challenger models, inference pricing, on-device model rights, first-of-kind integration agreements
- OS & services (Google / Android ecosystem) — platform-level relationships, OS and services agreements, integration and placement terms
- Cloud infrastructure — the multi-year agreements underneath our services: committed-spend structures, credits, and strategic terms that change the margin on every AI interaction
- Data partnerships — the supply, labeling, and licensing agreements that feed Nothing's AI capabilities, including newer and more sensitive data domains as our product roadmap grows

A smaller set of US hardware partnerships also sits with this role, but software is the mandate. These are few-in-number, high-stakes deals with some of the largest technology companies in the world, negotiated from the position of a challenger without incumbent leverage. This is a doing role, not a delegating role: you'll be the architect, the closer, and the person who makes their own materials.

## What you'll do

- Define Nothing's software supply chain strategy with the executive team; identify where partnerships beat build-or-buy
- Originate relationships outbound with AI labs, Google/Android, cloud providers, and data partners
- Structure multi-year, platform-level agreements: model access and inference pricing, OS/services terms, cloud commitments, data supply and licensing
- Negotiate and close with senior counterparts, personally owning commercial terms end-to-end
- Land deals that change product economics — inference costs, cloud margins, services revenue per device
- Work as a player-coach across product, engineering, marketing, and finance so partnerships are built into roadmaps, not bolted on
- Operate hands-on with no playbook, no template library, and no big-company legal machine behind you

## What we're looking for

Must have

- 8+ years of enterprise / platform business development with named, multi-year strategic deals
- Direct experience negotiating with at least one of: frontier/major AI labs, Google/Android platform teams, or major silicon vendors (Qualcomm, MediaTek, or similar)
- Proven outbound origination: you've created partnerships from cold, ideally from a challenger or lesser-known company where the brand didn't open the door for you
- C-suite deal-making at scale: demonstrated large-deal history, with ownership of commercial and legal terms
- Current, active focus on the North American market
- Deep fluency in the consumer-electronics / device landscape: silicon, OS, AI stack, and how they connect to device economics

Strong plus

- Deals with warrant/equity or non-standard commercial structures
- On-device AI or model-integration deal experience
- 0-to-1 builder: founder, early-team, or built a BD function from scratch
- Genuine affinity for Nothing's brand and design-led, culture-forward mission

Salary Range: $220-300K

## About Nothing

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Nothing builds smartphones, audio products, and AI tools that look good and make life easier, aiming to make tech fun again for the next generation of creatives.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C funding, total $691.5M raised)
- **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom
- **Founded**: 2020
- **Founders**: Carl Pei, Akis Evangelidis, David Sanmartín García, Steven Gao, Levi Li (among others)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Consumer electronics (smartphones, audio wearables) with a growing focus on AI software.
- **Target customers**: B2C – design-conscious consumers, creatives, and tech enthusiasts globally, with a strong presence in India, Europe, and expanding in North America.
- **Mission/purpose**: “Make tech fun again” – rebel against the status quo by creating bold, beautiful, and unusual designs that aid creativity and reduce distraction.

## Products & Services
- **Phone (3a) / Phone (3a) Pro** – Mid-range smartphones (Snapdragon 7s Gen 3) with Essential Space AI. Launched March 2025.
- **Phone (3)** – Flagship smartphone (Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, Glyph Matrix LED, periscope telephoto camera). Launched July 2025.
- **Phone (4a) / Phone (4a) Pro** – Latest mid-range models launched March 2026.
- **Ear (3)** – True wireless earbuds with transparent design and active noise cancellation. Launched 2025.
- **Headphone (1)** – Over-ear headphones. Launched July 2025.
- **CMF by Nothing** – Budget-oriented sub-brand (spun off as a separate company in 2025) offering affordable design-led devices.
- **Nothing OS** – Custom Android skin focused on minimalism and speed.
- **Essential Space** – AI-powered content management tool (second memory) activated by a dedicated Essential Key.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed (private company).
- **Key Metric (Revenue)**: $560M annual revenue (as of 2025–2026). Lifetime sales surpassed $1B by 2024.
- **Total Funding**: $691.5M across 11 rounds, including:
  - Seed (2020): $6.7M led by Tony Fadell, Casey Neistat, Kevin Lin, Steve Huffman.
  - Series B (2022): $70M.
  - Series C (2023): $96M led by Highland Europe.
  - Previous rounds included GV (Google Ventures), EQT Ventures, Tiger Global.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Highland Europe, GV, EQT Ventures, Tiger Global, Tony Fadell, Casey Neistat, Kevin Lin, Steve Huffman. In May 2026, Charli XCX became Global Brand Ambassador and shareholder.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - 1,278 employees (+33.4% YoY).
  - Fastest-growing smartphone brand in India (577% YoY growth in 2024).
  - Expanded to 60+ countries and opened flagship stores in London Soho and Bengaluru.
  - Active job postings up 100% YoY (42 open roles as of mid-2026).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Distinctive design language**: Transparent hardware, Glyph Interface (LED lighting on phone backs), and a rebellious aesthetic that stands out from incumbents.
- **Community co-creation**: A global community of 6M+ fans influence product development and marketing.
- **Essential Space AI**: A unique hardware + software integration (Essential Key) for on-device AI assistance, differentiating from standard Android offerings.
- **Talent density**: Heavily recruited from OnePlus, Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, Amazon – strong engineering and design pedigree.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI integration**: Deepening Essential Space and AI tools across the product line, positioning Nothing as a “AI-first” consumer brand.
- **Global expansion**: Targeting the US market with the Phone (3) launch and building retail presence.
- **Sub-brand independence**: CMF by Nothing spun off into a standalone India-based company to capture budget segment without diluting the main brand.
- **Sustainability & longevity**: Offering 5 years of OS updates and a confirmed upgrade path for older devices.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Nothing describes itself as “rebelling against the status quo” – a flat, creative environment where design and community matter. Emphasis on doing “the fun stuff big tech can’t.”
- **Work style**: Hybrid/office presence likely (London HQ, Bengaluru office, and other global hubs). Retail stores also operate in Soho and Bengaluru.
- **Growth opportunities**: Rapidly scaling company (33% headcount growth YoY) with roles in engineering, design, marketing, and sales across 60+ countries.
- **Notable perks**: Employee reviews (LinkedIn) rate compensation at 2.7/5 and culture at 2.3/5 – mixed sentiment, but the brand’s mission and product excitement are strong draws for design and engineering talent.
- **Recent hires**: Many ex-OnePlus, Apple, and Xiaomi employees; talent pool indicates a high-performance, hardware-focused environment.

## Sources
1. [nothing.tech](https://nothing.tech/about) – About Us page
2. [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_(company)) – Wikipedia article
3. [uk.linkedin.com](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/nothingtech) – LinkedIn company page (financials, employees, reviews)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/nothing) – Built In company profile and perks
5. [careers.nothing.tech](https://careers.nothing.tech/) – Official careers page

## Other roles at Nothing

- [Ecommerce Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/ecommerce-executive-nothing-london-england-429ypg0wv684) — London England, United Kingdom
- [Head of People, India](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-people-india-nothing-gurgaon-4ta05y1zvn4t) — Gurgaon, India
- [Product Manager, Subscription Products](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-subscription-products-nothing-london-england-ynwbek6wdpf4) — London England, United Kingdom
- [Growth Lead, Subscription Products](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-lead-subscription-products-nothing-london-england-mmyy54sfh9ew) — London England, United Kingdom
- [Marketing Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-project-manager-nothing-san-francisco-california-1myqsmkfxedx) — San Francisco California, United States
- [Head of Data](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-data-nothing-london-england-wgncrp00cad7) — London England, United Kingdom
- [Senior E-commerce Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-e-commerce-manager-nothing-london-england-jmc5es8egqce) — London England, United Kingdom
- [Account Manager, North America Carrier — 3–6 Month Consultancy](https://feeny.ai/job/account-manager-north-america-carrier-3-6-month-consultancy-nothing-san-0mywvecs5pt9) — San Francisco California, United States
- [Founding US People & Talent Partner](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-us-people-talent-partner-nothing-san-francisco-california-kk99v0xnxrx2) — San Francisco California, United States
- [Store Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/store-manager-nothing-san-francisco-california-x4gfg5tq5kfv) — San Francisco California, United States