HMD
Finnish maker of HMD-branded and Nokia-licensed feature phones and affordable Android smartphones. In India it bundles Sarvam AI's multilingual Indus assistant on its devices. HMD was founded in 2016. The company is led by Jean-Francois Baril. Based in Espoo, Finland. Total funding raised: $330M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include Ginko Ventures, Google, Qualcomm, Nokia Technologies, DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity, Wonderful.
- Founded
- 2016
- Headquarters
- Espoo, Finland
- Total funding
- $330M
Value proposition
Reliable feature phones and affordable smartphones, including repairable, kid-safe and secure devices. In India these now ship with Sarvam AI's Indus assistant, which works in more than 22 Indian languages.
Products and solutions
HMD Vibe 2 5G and Vibe 2 Pro 5G smartphones with Indus AI preloaded, HMD Pulse family, Nokia feature phones such as the 3210 and 2660 Flip, HMD Touch 4G hybrid phone, HMD Barbie Phone, HMD Fusion X1 and Xplora kids' phones, HMD Softlock, HMD Secure mission-critical devices, tablets and accessories.
Unique value
Global leader in feature phones and the largest European phone maker, with more than 450M devices sold. It pairs low-cost hardware with local-language AI from Sarvam to reach first-time smartphone users in India.
Target customer
Budget and first-time phone buyers in emerging markets such as India and Africa. Also families with children, and enterprise and government users through HMD Secure.
Industries served
Consumer electronics and mobile devices, telecom, public sector and defense (HMD Secure), education and family.
Technology advantage
Holds the Nokia phone brand licence and has large-scale feature-phone distribution. Makes repairable smartphones; the Nokia G22 was on TIME's Best Innovations list in 2023. Integrates Sarvam AI at the device level on both feature phones and smartphones. Has an EcoVadis Platinum sustainability rating.
How they differentiate
Leads the feature-phone market, holds the Nokia brand licence, and focuses on repairability and kids' safety. In India it adds a bundled local-language AI assistant. It is weaker than Samsung on software support: 2 years of security updates versus Samsung's 6 years of OS and security updates.
Main competitors
Transsion Holdings (itel, Tecno, Infinix), Samsung (Galaxy F/M budget series), Lava International
Key partnerships
Sarvam AI (Indus multilingual assistant on HMD smartphones and Nokia/HMD feature phones, announced at the India AI Impact Summit in Feb 2026), Nokia Corporation (brand licence), Google (Android, investor), Qualcomm (investor), MediaTek (Dimensity chipsets), Flipkart (India sales), GSMnet (self-repair), Mattel (Barbie Phone).
Notable customers
in-tech GmbH (documented enterprise deployment of over 1,000 Nokia smartphones supplied through Deutsche Telekom)
Major milestones
2016: founded to make Nokia-branded phones. 2018: raised $100M at a valuation above $1B. 2020: raised a $230M Series A2 from Google, Qualcomm and Nokia. 2022: Baril became Chairman & CEO. 2024: launched HMD-branded phones. Feb 2026: Sarvam AI partnership announced. May 2026: Vibe 2 5G launched with Indus. Sep 2026: Vibe 2 Pro 5G launched in India at ₹15,999.
Growth metrics
More than 450M devices sold worldwide. Valued at over $1B in 2018. Estimated 17.3% revenue share of the global feature-phone market in 2025.
Market positioning
Value and budget-tier mobile phone maker. Estimated about 17% revenue share of the global feature-phone market in 2025, ahead of Transsion.
Geographic focus
Global, with emphasis on India, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
About Jean-Francois Baril
Co-founded HMD Global in 2016. Served as Executive Chairman, then became Chairman & CEO in late 2022. Founder & Managing Partner of Ginko Ventures. Former Nokia executive. Stanford alumnus.
Latest news about HMD
Official website: https://www.hmd.com