TLDR
- Himanshu Tandon exits CMF after successfully establishing it as a top challenger brand.
- Nothing is pausing CMF smartphones in 2026 due to soaring component costs.
- Mainline Nothing will absorb at least one upcoming product originally planned for CMF.
- ndustry eyes Tandon’s next move, which sources describe as a substantially larger role.
After helping establish CMF as one of the fastest-growing consumer technology brands in India, Himanshu Tandon has stepped down from the company, marking the end of one of the industry’s most closely watched brand-building journeys. His departure comes as Nothing simultaneously resets CMF’s smartphone roadmap for 2026.
We reached out to Nothing India for comment regarding Tandon’s departure. We are awaiting a response at the time of publishing and will update this story if we receive one.
The Man Behind Two Challenger Brands
Over the last year, Tandon played a central role in transforming CMF from a sub-brand into a standalone business operation in India, building the commercial foundation across product, retail, partnerships, and market expansion. Industry executives credit him with helping create one of the strongest challenger brands in the affordable smartphone segment.
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Tandon’s playbook in the cutthroat budget hardware space is well documented. Before his tenure at CMF, he was a founding member of Xiaomi’s POCO sub-brand, successfully steering it as India Head to a 5.9% market share in early 2024. He brought that same momentum to CMF, expanding the product lineup to include smartwatches and earbuds, alongside the critically acclaimed CMF Phone 2 Pro. The device swept up major accolades, including Smartprix’s Mid-range Phone of 2025 and MKBHD’s Budget Phone of the Year.
More importantly, he successfully championed the structural push to register CMF as a fully independent brand in India, proving a sub-brand could achieve standalone brand growth without cannibalizing its parent company.
“Himanshu has now built two successful challenger brands in India—first POCO and then CMF. There are very few executives in India with that track record,” said one senior smartphone industry executive. Another noted, “Wherever he goes next will immediately become one of the most closely watched smartphone stories in India.”
The Math Doesn’t Work: Nothing Resets Strategy
Tandon’s exit coincides with a major strategic recalibration for CMF. Driven by surging memory and component costs across the tech industry, Nothing has officially paused all new CMF smartphone launches for 2026.
Recently Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis took to X to explain the shift: “We were working on a successor, but with memory prices where they are right now, we can’t build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF.” While CMF will continue to develop non-smartphone ecosystem products, sources indicate that at least one future device originally slated for CMF has now been shifted to the mainline Nothing brand.
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What’s Next for Himanshu Tandon?
While Tandon has not announced his next destination, multiple industry sources say he has already attracted interest from several consumer technology companies looking to expand into smartphones and connected devices.
Having previously helped build POCO and later CMF, his next move is expected to attract significant industry attention. People familiar with the matter describe his next assignment as “substantially larger” than his previous operating responsibilities, although no official announcement has yet been made.
For now, CMF enters a period of strategic recalibration. But within the Indian smartphone industry, attention has already shifted to a different question: where Himanshu Tandon will build next.
If his track record at POCO and CMF is any indication, the next brand he joins—or builds—could become one of the industry’s biggest stories of the coming year.
FAQ
- Why did Himanshu Tandon leave CMF by Nothing?
While an official reason hasn’t been publicly detailed, his exit coincides with a major strategic pivot for CMF, which is pausing its smartphone launches for 2026 due to industry-wide cost pressures.
- Will there be a new CMF phone released in 2026?
No. Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis confirmed that surging memory and component prices make it impossible to build a meaningful upgrade at CMF’s target budget price point this year.
- What were Himanshu Tandon’s career highlights before leaving?
Tandon is a recognized leader in the budget tech space. Before championing CMF’s registration as an independent brand in India and launching the award-winning CMF Phone 2 Pro, he was a founding member of POCO and served as POCO India Head. There, he led the brand to a 5.9% market share and earned accolades like the Times 40 Under 40.
- Is the CMF by Nothing brand shutting down?
No. CMF will continue to launch ecosystem products, audio gear, and explore new hardware categories. As of now, the temporary pause only applies to smartphones.
- Will Nothing still release new smartphones this year?
Yes. The mainline Nothing brand is unaffected by the CMF pause. In fact, sources indicate that at least one future product originally planned for CMF has been moved to the Nothing brand, and Evangelidis has confirmed that new Nothing smartphone launches are expected soon.
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