Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 28
BlackBerry Doubles Share Price on Car Software Push, Targets $950 Million QNX Backlog for Robots
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 28

BlackBerry Doubles Share Price on Car Software Push, Targets $950 Million QNX Backlog for Robots

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 28

Summary

  • BlackBerry shares have doubled this year as investors back its shift from smartphones to safety-critical software for cars and secure communications.
  • QNX now sits in 275 million vehicles, supplying embedded systems for functions from braking to semi-autonomous driving and giving BlackBerry a base for what CEO John Giamatteo calls physical AI.
  • Robotics is already one of the fastest-growing parts of the QNX portfolio, with BlackBerry now generating revenue from industrial, factory and medical robot customers rather than humanoid projects.
  • A $950 million QNX order backlog includes robotics business, though BlackBerry did not disclose how much, underscoring how the company is extending its automotive software into adjacent AI-driven machines.
  • The pivot marks BlackBerry's long reinvention after losing the smartphone battle that followed the iPhone's 2007 launch, replacing handset sales with software built around security and safety.

Insights

Will BlackBerry's billion-dollar pivot into physical AI secure its future, or will open-source rivals dismantle its safety-certified empire?
Can a former smartphone giant truly become the untouchable nervous system for tomorrow's AI-driven cars and medical robots?