Teenage engineering is best known for its synthesizers and wireless audio products. Nothing, Carl Pei’s audio startup, has named the Swedish audio brand Teenage engineering as a founding partner. The Stockholm-based company will take command of Nothing’s design, a move that will help Pei’s startup to differentiate its upcoming products from the crowd.
Teenage Engineering is known for creating audio products where the emphasis is given on industrial design. Its products target a niche crowd. The OB-4 “magic radio”, for instance, is a $599 Bluetooth speaker with built-in FM radio and analogue controls.
The collaboration with Teenage Engineering gives us a hint at the ambition behind Pei to start a new company that plans to develop high-end audio products. Teenage Engineering CEO Jesper Kouthoofd has been named as Nothing’s Creative Lead, and Tom Howard, the Vice Head for Teenage Engineering, will serve as Nothing’s Head of Design. Pei’s Nothing will unveil its first products over the coming months.
The London-headquartered firm recently acquired all trademarks and intellectual property of Andy Rubin’s defunct Essential brand. It’s not exactly clear what will Nothing do with the Essential brand.
Pei, who also co-founded OnePlus, recently revealed that the company’s first product will be a pair of wireless headphones. The startup is expected to announce more products throughout the year. Pei’s company is backed by high-profile executives, including Kunal Shah of Cred, Tony Fadell, principal at Future Shape and inventor of the iPodYouTuber Casey Neistat, Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch, and Steve Huffman, chief executive of Reddit. Carl Pei’s audio startup Nothing recently raised $15 million in series A funding led by Alphabet’s GV.