BlackBerry

QNX software now controls safety features in 275 million cars as BlackBerry redirects attention from its divested cybersecurity arm toward automotive software and robots.

Who they are

BlackBerry appears in coverage as a former handset maker that moved away from designing and manufacturing its own phones toward software, security and embedded systems. Its current story centers on QNX, the operating-system business used in vehicles, while recent corporate reporting also tracks the rise and subsequent sale of its Cylance cybersecurity operation.

The recent arc

Recent coverage first concentrated in late 2023 on a strategic reset: John Chen’s retirement, Richard Lynch’s interim appointment, and then John Giamatteo’s appointment as CEO. Reuters reported plans to separate the IoT and cybersecurity units and pursue an IoT subsidiary IPO, but Bloomberg later reported that BlackBerry would no longer spin off the IoT business.

The narrative shifted again in 2024-26 from separation to concentration. TechCrunch reported the $160 million sale of Cylance to Arctic Wolf, against BlackBerry’s $1.4 billion 2018 acquisition price. The latest stories profile QNX as software controlling safety features in 275 million cars and describe its positioning as an operating system for robots; Sherwood News tied that reframing to a stock rise of more than 160% over three months.

The tension

Coverage circles the contrast between BlackBerry’s legacy consumer-device retreat and its effort to establish QNX as a durable embedded-software platform. The earlier Android-phone transition and end of in-house handset development marked the break with the mobile era, while the Cylance sale underscores the difficulty of making cybersecurity the second pillar alongside QNX.

Why it matters

If QNX’s automotive installed base can translate into broader robotics and embedded-system demand, BlackBerry’s relevance could increasingly rest on infrastructure software rather than its phone brand. But the reversal on an IoT spin-off and the Cylance write-down show that the company’s narrower focus is still being tested by execution and by whether QNX can sustain growth beyond its established vehicle footprint.

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