BlackBerry announced this week that it would be open to working with Apple or Google to develop a driverless car.
John Chen made the statement on December 20th, following the launch of BlackBerry’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre (AVIC) in Ottawa a day earlier.
“I’m actually building a secure, foundational infrastructure for cars…to talk to each other,” he said. “I don’t know what Apple’s plan is, or Google’s plan is, in detail; we definitely could even be partners with them, we could provide them those solutions,” Chen told BNN.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau frequented the launch of the BlackBerry QNX AVIC on Monday, claiming that such innovations would serve a a creator of jobs for middle class Canadians.
Both BlackBerry and Google-parent Alphabet have been vocal about their intentions to enter the driverless space, while Apple has yet to confirm its even working on a driverless car.
In addition, BlackBerry announced its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2017 this past week, which revealed a $114 million USD net loss on a $289 million revenue.
MobileSyrup previously reported that $160 million USD of this revenue was generated from software. This is significant because BlackBerry has repeatedly committed to turn things around by maintaining the software segment of its business, which includes auto-tech.
BlackBerry QNX’s technology, the Waterloo-based smartphone maker’s auto subsidiary, is currently in 60 million cars around the world. Apple has kept its driverless project under lock and key, but has also poached BlackBerry QNX senior leadership in an effort to assist its own auto ambitions.
Google’s driverless initiatives are further along, as the company just split off its autonomous vehicle vertical into a new company under Alphabet, called Waymo.
[source]BNN[/source]
