London-based smartphone startup Nothing is said to have leased space at 555 Pacific Ave. in San Francisco.
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In tech-forward San Francisco, addresses can be as telling as product launches.
London-based smartphone startup Nothing is said to have leased space in Jackson Square near Lovefrom, the design studio founded by Jony Ive, who helped define the modern smartphone — a move that positions the 5-year-old company within the orbit of one of the industry’s most influential creative hubs.
Sources with insight into Nothing’s San Francisco expansion have confirmed to the Chronicle that the startup has leased a small but strategically notable space, spanning about 1,800-square-feet, at 555 Pacific Ave. The historic low-rise commercial building is located on the same city block where Ive has spent recent years assembling multiple buildings to serve as Lovefrom’s headquarters.
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Ive has used his Jackson Square properties, concentrated on the block between Pacific Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Jackson and Montgomery streets, as the base to launch io Products — a startup designed to rethink the smartphone experience, which was sold to OpenAI for $6.5 billion last year, though it remains based in the neighborhood. Sources told the Chronicle that OpenAI leased two floors at 595 Pacific Ave. last year, next to the building where Nothing signed its lease, though it is unclear whether that space is being used by io employees.
Today, 555 Pacific is one of the few properties on the block that has not been acquired by Ive, whose Jackson Square real estate purchases since 2021 have included the Little Fox Theatre building at 535 Pacific Ave., multiple buildings on Montgomery Street such as 809 and 831 Montgomery, and parcels along Columbus Avenue, which he is in the process of renovating. Ive is also developing a central courtyard within the Jackson Square complex, designed to serve as a shared creative and collaborative space connecting his properties.
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Ive and OpenAI founder Sam Altman have said previously that with io they plan to build the “iPhone of AI” — an AI-driven device that aims to reduce reliance on smartphones. Meanwhile, Nothing announced last year that it is planning to launch an AI-first device that would expand its product lineup beyond smartphones and audio gear.
Nothing did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Chronicle about its Jackson Square lease. However, founder Carl Pei shared in a post to social media platform X over the weekend that the company “signed the lease for our San Francisco home,” which he said will serve as “part showroom, part office.” He did not disclose the location.
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A recent job posting for Nothing seeks a San Francisco store manager, and describes the company as “one that puts design, emotion, and human creativity at the heart of everything we do.” Michael Gschwend and Tim Mason of brokerage Kidder Mathews represent the ownership at 555 Pacific, but declined to comment on the deal with Nothing.
The storied Jackson Square neighborhood, known for its historic architectural charm and retail vibrancy, appears to be one of Nothing’s first office and showroom locations in the United States. The company had announced plans to open its first U.S. retail store in New York City, alongside other future locations like Tokyo, but no opening date or address has been confirmed.
Nothing is known for its minimalistic design aesthetic, developing “transparent” smartphones, audio products and related software that aim to challenge industry giants like Apple and Samsung. Since 2020, the company has raised more than $450 million, most recently securing $200 million last year that valued it at roughly $1.3 billion. Its investors include Google Ventures and Tiger Global, a New York investment firm that is also opening a San Francisco office in close proximity to the 555 Pacific building, at the Transamerica Pyramid. Bloomberg reported last week that Nothing’s new push into AI-integrated consumer hardware involves a pair of smart glasses.
While Nothing’s current hardware and forthcoming AI device differ from io’s mission to “rethink the smartphone” entirely, the proximity underscores how the neighborhood that once once served as a hub for wholesale and import businesses along the waterfront has morphed into a tightly concentrated ecosystem of design-forward innovation.
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The 555 Pacific building carries a slice of San Francisco history: It was reconstructed in the early 20th century after the 1906 earthquake and hosted a series of nightclub venues, including a dance hall known as the Hippodrome. Its most recent tenant was art supply retailer Artist & Craftsman Supply, which occupied the building for many years before closing shop in early 2020, leaving the property vacant. Real estate insiders confirmed that along with Nothing’s ground-floor lease, an unidentified AI company recently leased the building’s entire second floor, spanning about 9,000 square feet.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story displayed a photo of a different address.