C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Nothing’s CEO, Carl Pei, took part in a video interview where he explained why he bought Essential in 2021.
- He said he bought the defunct company for its name, not its tech.
- Essential only produced one phone before closing down.
Nothing is back in the news with the Nothing Phone 3 and a new set of headphones coming this summer. But Carl Pei wants to talk about something different. Nothing’s CEO recently opened up about why the company acquired Essential, and it is a lot simpler than many think. It was all about the name.
Over on YouTube, Nothing shared a new video with CEO Carl Pei where he revealed that the purchase was all about getting the Essential name. Nothing wanted to use the name for its own products and was able to acquire the defunct phone maker for an undisclosed amount. It also took over its trademarks, social media handles, and domain name with the acquisition.
Nothing wanted the name, not the tech. In the video, Pei explained that he had considered other names for the company. “Stone” was one of his considerations. He was particularly drawn to “Essential,” but that name was already taken by another phone maker. Pei ultimately settled on “Nothing.”
Nothing wanted the name, not the tech.
Pei made it clear in the video that Essential’s technology wasn’t a factor in the acquisition. At one point in the video, he was handed one of Essential’s unreleased Project Gem smartphones. This was a narrow, elongated device that fit in the palm of the hand, like a TV remote. He laughed at the weird keyboard Essential had tried to mash into the small screen.
Pei also revealed in the video the pressure he was under while starting Nothing. He ended up with heart palpitations that sent him to the hospital. After many tests, the doctors told him it was all due to stress. The difficulty of mastering everything from product design to logistics to the acquisition of Essential was nearly too much for Pei, but he is fine now, he told the interviewer in the video.
Essential was once a high-profile Android device maker, but it only managed to release one phone. The company shut down in 2020 due to lack of sales. Nothing, already a successful hardware company with several products under its belt, bought Essential a year later. Pei refused to reveal how much he paid for Essential when asked in the video.
