Essential Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Essential was acquired by Nothing in February 2021.

Essential acquisition price

Undisclosed

Acquired by Nothing · Feb 2021

Cumulative funding Essential raised

$330M

across 2 funding rounds

Key investors in Essential

  • Redpoint
  • Playground Global
  • Tencent
  • Amazon
  • Altimeter Capital
  • Vy Capital
  • Access Technology Ventures

Essential Overview

About Essential

Essential Products was a consumer hardware company founded by Andy Rubin, the creator of Android. It designed and sold the Essential Phone, a premium Android smartphone with a titanium frame and an edge-to-edge display, and developed magnetic modular accessories such as a 360-degree camera. It also worked on a connected home assistant and an operating system called Ambient OS. The company sold direct to consumers and through carriers and retailers, earning revenue from device sales. It was founded in 2015 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Palo Alto and San Francisco. It ceased operations in February 2020, and its brand, domain and trademarks were later bought by the consumer technology company Nothing.


Founded

2015

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Product sales

Valuation

$993M (Jun 2017)

Essential Acquisition

Essential was acquired by Nothing for an undisclosed price on 15 February 2021.

Before the acquisition Essential had raised $330M across 2 funding rounds.

Nothing, the London-based consumer technology startup founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, acquired Essential Inc., the defunct smartphone company launched by Android creator Andy Rubin, with the transaction completed on January 6, 2021, as per UK Intellectual Property Office filings. The deal covered Essential's trademarks, logos, brandings, web domain (essential.com), and social media handles, but explicitly excluded patents. Nothing considered using the Essential name for its brand due to its simplicity and elegance but ultimately chose 'Nothing' to avoid market confusion with a potential Essential brand revival. Essential had produced only one handset, the Essential Phone with Ambient OS, which failed commercially, leading to the company's shutdown. Nothing acquired the assets early in its formation, prior to revealing product details, as part of building its intellectual property foundation ahead of launching smart devices like earbuds and smartphones. The acquisition aligned with Nothing's goal of restoring artistry and passion in consumer tech, supported by early funding including a $15M Series A in February 2021 led by GV.

Essential acquisition details
AcquirerDateType
15 Feb 2021Strategic M&A

Sources: 9to5google.com, androidauthority.com

Essential Valuation

Essential is insolvent and not operational anymore. Read the announcement ↗

Essential was last valued at $993M, based on its Series B in June 2017. Read the announcement ↗

The $300M round was led by Access Technology Ventures, with participation from Redpoint, Amazon, Tencent, Altimeter Capital, Playground Global and 1 other investor.

Essential's valuation grew 8.3x from $120M at its Series A in February 2016 to $993M in June 2017, across 2 priced rounds.

Essential valuation by funding round

Essential valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Feb 2020Write-down · Insolvency$0
Jun 2017Series B$993M
Feb 2016Series A$120M

Essential Funding History

Before winding down, Essential has raised a total of $330M across 2 funding rounds.

Essential's first fundraising round was a $30M Series A in February 2016. The most recent completed round was a $300M Series B in June 2017.

Essential funding rounds

Essential funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Jun 2017Series BAccess Technology Ventures (lead); Redpoint; Amazon; Tencent; Altimeter Capital; Playground Global; Vy Capital$300M$993MAccess Technology Ventures led a $300 million funding round in Essential Products, the smartphone maker founded by Android creator Andy Rubin, in 2017. Access invested $100 million of the total, and Access Technology Ventures joined Essential's board. Other investors in the round included Redpoint Ventures, Tencent Holdings, Altimeter Capital, Vy Capital and Amazon's Alexa Fund, and the round brought total capital raised to $330 million. Bloomberg first reported the raise in June 2017, and the formal announcement followed in August 2017. The proceeds funded production and sales of the Essential Phone, the company's first device. Essential was founded in 2015, is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and described its aim as creating consumer technology products for the 21st century. It had begun with a $30 million first round from Playground Global and Redpoint.
Feb 2016Series APlayground Global (lead); Redpoint (lead)$30M$120MPlayground Global and Redpoint Ventures backed Essential Products, the smartphone startup founded by Android creator Andy Rubin, with a first round of $30 million. Rubin later said on stage that the company began with that round from Playground and Redpoint. Playground Global is the venture studio Rubin founded, and Redpoint co-led the round. The money funded the early development of Essential's hardware and software products ahead of its first phone. Essential was founded in 2015 and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It raised a further $300 million in 2017 led by Access Technology Ventures, bringing total capital raised to $330 million.

Who has invested in Essential?

7 investors have backed Essential across its funding rounds, including Redpoint, Playground Global, Tencent, Amazon, Altimeter Capital and Vy Capital.

Lead investors include Access Technology Ventures, Playground Global and Redpoint.


Essential Investors

Investors in Essential by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
RedpointUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2LeadFeb 2016
Playground GlobalUnited StatesPalo Alto, CA2LeadFeb 2016
Access Technology VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY1LeadJun 2017
AmazonUnited StatesSeattle, WA1ParticipantJun 2017
TencentChinaShenzhen1ParticipantJun 2017

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Acquisitions by Essential

Essential has acquired 1 company to date.

Last acquisition by Essential was on December 7th 2018. Essential acquired Newton for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by Essential

Newton
Description
Newton is a San Francisco-based email client supporting Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, iCloud, Yahoo, and Office 365 accounts across iOS, Android, and Mac platforms. Rebranded from CloudMagic in 2016, it offers features like read receipts, email snooze, undo send, and send later scheduling. The subscription service has earned awards including a Webby for visual design and praise from The Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch.
HQ CountryUnited States
HQ City
San Francisco, CA
Deal Date7 Dec 2018
Valuationundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Essential Competitors

Essential competitors included listed companies like Yoho Group Holdings, Vantiva, Fractal Gaming Group and Creative Technology, and private ones like MyOeno and Hail Protector.

Public and private companies comparable to Essential
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Yoho Group HoldingsHong KongHong KongPublicly listed$94M$4M$46M-
VantivaFranceFrancePublicly listed$1.9B$30M$44M0.3x
Fractal Gaming GroupSwedenSwedenPublicly listed$82M$7M$42M0.8x
Creative TechnologySingaporeSingaporePublicly listed$61M$453K$35M-
MyOenoFranceParisPrivate--$3M-
Hail ProtectorUnited StatesDallas, TXPrivate--$3M-

Essential Public Comps

Essential is no longer listed, but its public comps include US Lighting Group, TC Unterhaltungselektronik, EatGood Sweden, Hauppauge Digital, Pallas Air, Bigben Interactive, Gigaset and Interactive Strength.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
US Lighting Group$4M($742K)0.0x-(0.0x)-
TC Unterhaltungselektronik$513K($3K)0.2x-(37.5x)-
EatGood Sweden$193K($537K)3.0x0.5x(1.1x)-
Hauppauge Digital$34M($904K)0.0x-(0.8x)-
Pallas Air$8M($5M)1.4x1.4x(2.0x)(2.7x)
Bigben Interactive$319M$64M0.5x0.5x2.5x2.0x

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Common questions about Essential

What happened to Essential?Essential is not operational anymore and insolvent as of 12 February 2020.
When was Essential founded?Essential was founded in 2015.
Where was Essential headquartered?Essential was headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Was Essential publicly listed?No, Essential was a private, VC-backed company.
Who acquired Essential?Essential was acquired by Nothing in February 2021.
What was Essential's valuation?Essential was last valued at $993M in its Series B in June 2017.
How much did Essential raise?Essential raised $330M across 2 funding rounds.
What was Essential's last funding round?Essential's last funding round was a $300M Series B in June 2017, led by Access Technology Ventures.
Who were Essential's investors?Essential's investors included Redpoint, Playground Global, Access Technology Ventures, Amazon, Tencent, Altimeter Capital and Vy Capital.
Who were Essential's competitors?Essential's competitors included Yoho Group Holdings, Vantiva, Fractal Gaming Group, Creative Technology, MyOeno and Hail Protector.
How many companies did Essential acquire?Essential acquired 1 company, including Newton.

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