Independent research firm Strategy Analytics has found that BlackBerry’s QNX software is now embedded in over 215 million vehicles worldwide, an increase of 20 million from last year.
“BlackBerry remains the leading choice for safety-critical automotive software, deployed in millions of vehicles globally, reflecting an industry-leading strategic vision,” said Roger Lanctot, director for Automotive Connected Mobility at Strategy Analytics. “Over the past seven years, BlackBerry has retained and grown its position in a rapidly changing market, and successfully delivered innovative automotive software solutions, which OEMs and Tier 1s embed in vehicles sold around the world.”
Strategy Analytics determined the volume of vehicles embedded with BlackBerry QNX software based on the number of BlackBerry QNX products that are shipped in the automotive market and the number of cars that contain BlackBerry QNX products and technology. The vast majority of BlackBerry QNX software products that are integrated and used in automotive ECUs are licensed on a per-unit royalty basis.
Automakers deploy BlackBerry QNX software in a broad range of applications for today's increasingly connected vehicles. These applications include digital cockpits, advanced drive assistance systems, instrument clusters, acoustics, and infotainment. Companies that have used the embedded software in their vehicles include BMW, Bosch, Continental, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Visteon.
“We continue to be the clear market leader in safety-critical embedded automotive software, with consistent growth in vehicles count, from over 16 million in 2013 to over 215 million today. We are delighted to be trusted by automotive OEMs and Tier 1s around the world,” said John Chen, executive chairman & CEO, BlackBerry.
Indeed, the QNX royalty revenue backlog has increased to approximately US$560 million at the end of BlackBerry’s first quarter of fiscal year 2023. This represents a 14% increase, from approximately US$490 million last year.
The backlog metric is calculated annually using QNX’s royalty rates and current projections of anticipated volumes over the lifetime of a design. BlackBerry QNX has recently achieved design wins with industry leaders such as Aptiv, Denso, Ford, GM, Hyundai, LG Electronics, Magna, and Volvo.
“Connected-autonomous vehicles are central to the development of smart cities, so as the two key markets that BlackBerry serves – IoT and cybersecurity – converge into an interdependent and combined market, our growth in the automotive industry will accelerate the emergence of a trusted smart world,” said Chen.
