BlackBerry Calls Robotics a Fast-Growing QNX Business; Order Value Undisclosed
The company is extending its safety-focused software pitch from vehicles to physical equipment, but has not put a number on robotics orders.
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3 key pointsBlackBerry is using QNX’s safety-critical software track record to pursue robotics beyond cars, targeting warehouses, robotic forklifts, medical instruments, and industrial automation rather than making humanoids its centerpiece. QNX is installed in 275 million vehicles, and BlackBerry says robotics already contributes to its approximately $950 million royalty backlog. The company has not separated robotics orders from that total, so the opportunity’s current revenue scale remains unclear. An expanded April 2025?
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Robotics is described by CEO John Giamatteo as one of QNX’s fastest-growing businesses.
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BlackBerry disclosed no robotics-specific order value, limiting visibility into current commercial scale.
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The target markets include warehouses, robotic forklifts, medical instruments, and industrial automation.
BlackBerry CEO John Giamatteo says robotics is among the fastest-growing businesses in the company’s QNX portfolio. BlackBerry says some of QNX’s roughly $950 million royalty backlog comes from robotics, but it did not disclose the value of those orders.
Where QNX fits
QNX is the software base for that push. BlackBerry says QNX is used in cars for operating systems and other embedded software supporting functions that include braking and some semi-autonomous driving features. BlackBerry is presenting that work in safety-critical automotive systems as relevant to newer robots that combine specialized hardware, AI models and other software.
The strategy follows BlackBerry’s shift from its former keyboard-equipped mobile phones into other businesses, with QNX now one of its biggest. The company’s argument is not that automotive software automatically wins robotics work; it is that the same type of software experience can serve machines where dependable operation is central.
BlackBerry says QNX is embedded in 275 million vehicles.
A focus on working equipment
Giamatteo did not put humanoid robots at the center of the plan. He instead pointed to industrial settings such as warehouses and robotic forklifts, as well as medical instruments and industrial automation. Those are the environments BlackBerry identifies for a broader QNX opportunity.
Nvidia connects the software to systems
BlackBerry has already tied that plan to Nvidia. In April, the companies announced an expanded partnership to deploy BlackBerry software alongside Nvidia systems in robotics, medical technologies and industrial applications. The agreement places QNX beside Nvidia’s systems in the equipment categories BlackBerry is targeting.
For now, the company’s evidence establishes a growing robotics line within QNX, an automotive deployment base and a partnership aimed at physical equipment. The disclosed backlog confirms that robotics contributes to future QNX royalties, while its undisclosed order value leaves the business’s present commercial weight unresolved.
Sources
- cnbc.comBlackBerry CEO says robotics is one of its fastest-growing businesses
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