BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB) shares were skyrocketing on Wednesday on the news that the company has inked a deal with Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU).
The two companies have reportedly come together to develop self-driving vehicle technology, marking yet another example of how BlackBerry has shifted from being a smartphone maker to a software developer. BB stock soared 10.4% on Wednesday, reaching a four-year high.
The former smart device manufacturer has developed a software called QNX Hypervisor 2.0 to help run complex computer systems in vehicles, according to Baidu. This software would work in unison with the latter’s self-driving open platform, Apollo.
“By integrating the BlackBerry QNX OS with the Apollo platform, we will enable carmakers to leap from prototype to production systems,” said Li Zhenyu, general manager of Baidu’s intelligent driving division.
The opportunity is a great one for both companies, but especially BlackBerry, which rose from its ashes about a year ago and made the difficult transition towards completely revamping the face of the company. The two parties are also entering a congested market as all tech giants have been seeking to develop their own self-driving platforms that could define what the streets look like in the future.
Such a move could spell some global success for BlackBerry, as other countries are also interested in implementing autonomous driving technology with the hopes of being the first one to fully figure it out.
