Andy Rubin’s Essential may have a second chance in life. Nothing, the new startup by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, acquired the company’s brand. Searching the database, found that Rubin transferred ownership of Essential’s trademarks and logo to Pei’s new venture on January 6, 2021. It is not clear whether the startup also obtained Essential’s patents, or what it plans to do with the logo and trademarks now that you own them.
When Pei first started earlier this month, he said his first product would be a pair of wireless headsets and promised more devices in late 2021. “We are building an ecosystem of smart devices,” he said Bloomberg. “We will start with simpler products, wireless headsets. We will have several products throughout the year, not just audio products, and eventually we want to build them so that these devices can communicate. “
If buying Essential’s trademarks is a sign that Nada plans to launch a phone, the company is betting that the legacy of Rubin’s startup will do more than harm. Despite all its flaws, Essential had a passionate fan base that loved the PH-1, the only phone released. However, the company was mired in controversy after it was discovered that Rubin may not have been transparent about the exact reasons for it.
Even if Nothing ends up in trademarks, Essential’s legacy is likely to live in other ways. In late 2020, more than two dozen former employees ended up in a company founded by Jason Keats, former chief of R&D at Essential. The startup plans to launch a device later this year. In the meantime, Nothing promised to share more details about its upcoming devices in late February.