1-MIN READ Carl Pei's Nothing Acquires Andy Rubin's Essential Smartphone Brand: What It Means Carl Pei's Nothing has said that it will launch its “first smart devices in the first half of this year.” FOLLOW US ON: OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's new company Nothing has acquired smartphone brand Essential that launched its only smartphone in 2017. The Essential brand, founded by Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, was formally acquired by Carl Pei's Nothing in January, according to a report in 9to5Google. This comes as one of the biggest update yet, about Carl Pei's new venture, after the OnePlus co-founder departed from the BBK Electronics-owned brand late last year.