BlackBerry is betting on the robotics sector as one of its most prominent future growth engines, as this sector has become one of the fastest growing divisions within the company’s QNX software system.
This trend comes at a time when there is increasing talk about “physical artificial intelligence” and the expansion of its applications beyond the automotive sector, of which BlackBerry has been one of its main pillars for many years through QNX software dedicated to vital, highly secure and reliable systems, from braking systems to semi-autonomous driving technologies. This software currently works in about 275 million cars around the world, while the company is pushing it into new areas beyond the automotive industry.
The company is moving toward robotics as the fastest-growing sector of the technology industry as a whole, with a clear focus away from the humanoid robots that are gaining so much attention in China and elsewhere, and instead toward more specific industrial applications, such as warehouse robots, robotic forklifts, and medical applications. Robotics, medical devices and industrial automation represent key growth opportunities for the company outside of the automotive sector, and QNX software is well positioned to support these applications.
BlackBerry currently has a backlog of orders for QNX software worth approximately $950 million, part of which includes applications related to robotics, without disclosing the value of this part specifically. This comes at a time when the company’s share price has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year, in parallel with improved profitability margins and overall financial performance.
BlackBerry seeks to consolidate its position in future growth areas, most notably robotics and self-driving cars, which are applications that all fall within the concept of physical artificial intelligence, which is based on integrating specialized components and devices with artificial intelligence models and advanced software, which is what its long experience in the automotive sector gives it a competitive advantage in it.
Last April, BlackBerry expanded its partnership with NVIDIA, allowing its software to be integrated with NVIDIA systems in the fields of robotics, medical technologies, and industrial applications.