Longtime lurker; first time poster! Having been working in the consumer electronics world for some time (specifically in the US), seeing Nothing make the trip ’cross the pond is exciting! Nothing has ~1% marketshare worldwide so expanding operations is inevitable to help push that number up. And while I am excited to see Nothing come to the US, I’m a bit disheartened to see the space land in San Francisco, of all places.
The tech scene in San Fran is overpopulated, to put it mildly. It would have been far more interesting to see Nothing open in a smaller, more niche market with an equally growing tech scene. Detroit, Michigan has an incredibly fast growing tech space as they have a modern day renaissance. Boston, Massachusetts has been bio-tech for a long time, with the likes of MIT and Harvard supporting these ventures but with Boston Dynamics encouraging heavy investment in robotics and as more companies out west look for additional real estate and a stronger East Coast presence, Boston has started to grow it’s tech scene as more companies move headquarters or open additional offices. Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbus, Ohio are also quickly becoming tech hubs with Apple and IBM increasing their presence in each respective city. And while it share’s a lot of the same real estate issues as San Francisco, NYC will always be a Mecca for innovation. I fear San Francisco is too on-the-nose for a phone brand to open an office in and stand out.
With that said I cannot wait to visit and hope it’s a smashing success; open this role in the Midwest/East Coast and I’d be applying in a heartbeat! I hope whoever fills this role proves me wrong 100%.
