Andrew Yang's Noble Mobile buys SmartLess Mobile in its second deal of 2026
What's the deal? Noble Mobile, the wireless startup founded by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, has acquired SmartLess MobileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the carrier launched by the creators of the SmartLess podcast and backed by ThomvestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The deal, announced in October, comes with undisclosed terms. Both run as branded mobile services on a larger carrier's network, so the acquisition is about adding subscribers and scale rather than merging infrastructure.
Why now? It is Noble's second acquisition of the year, following its June purchase of Helium MobileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The company launched in September 2025 with $10 million in funding and is moving quickly to pull rival subscriber bases onto its platform.
What's the endgame? Noble pitches itself as the first carrier built around digital wellness, paying subscribers cash back for using their phones less — up to $20 a month. "We don't want your life spent looking down at a screen — we want to pay you to live it," Yang said. Existing SmartLess customers keep their current pricing and gain Noble's nationwide coverage and screen-time tools.
What's new? Alongside the deal, Noble rolled out a "Brain Rot Index," an app metric that scores users' daily screen habits, pick-ups, and doomscrolling. It also added family leaderboards that rank household members by their scores and shared cash-back milestones to encourage lighter use among children.
What could go wrong? The announcement discloses no deal value or subscriber numbers, leaving unclear how material the acquisition is. Noble is also entering a crowded field, competing against established budget brands and cable operators' mobile services.
The signal: The deal reflects a broader reshaping of US wireless, where major carriers have absorbed virtual operators such as Mint MobileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and cable companies' mobile brands have become key sources of subscriber growth. Noble is betting that cash-back incentives and screen-time tools can carve out a distinct niche in that consolidating market. "Together, we'll continue disrupting an industry that has profited for far too long from customers paying for more than they need," said SmartLess Mobile chief executive officer Paul McAleese.
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