co-founder AndroidAndy Rubin began work on a premium bezel-less smartphone that would run on an operating system he created. Unfortunately, it seems his startup, Essential Products, isn't doing too well. 
Japan's Softbank has decided not to invest $100 million in Essential Products, a deal that had been in the works for months without any definitive investment agreements. Softbank had said it would help Andy Rubin in his endeavor but apparently changed its mind.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Softbank backed out due to a potential conflict of interest. Specifically, Softbank's CEO plans to launch the Vision Fund investment group in 2017, to which Apple wants to contribute $1 billion. So, as expected, Softbank fears that investing in Essential Products will affect its deal with Apple.
Another possible reason for Softbank's refusal is that since it bought ARM a few months ago, it is very likely that it does not want to clash with other companies that use ARM processors such as Samsung and LG, contributing to the development of a potential premium smartphone rival.
Andy Rubin intended to create an Android smartphone that would feature a display larger than 5.5 inches, with ceramic and metal edges. There was also talk of a modular design similar to that of Lenovo's Moto Z series.
In addition, Andy Rubin had also hired a team of 40 people from Apple and Google to work at his company and had attended CES 2017 to discuss new products with US executives and agencies.
