BlackBerry's QNX Launches QOS 8.0 to Boost Secure System Development

BlackBerry Limited’s BB QNX unit has unveiled the QNX Operating System for Safety (QOS) 8.0, a next-generation, safety-certified platform designed to power mission-critical embedded systems across industries such as automotive, industrial automation, robotics, medical devices and defense.

Built on the advanced microkernel architecture of QNX SDP 8.0, QOS 8.0 provides a robust, pre-certified foundation that embeds safety and security requirements directly into the software, enabling manufacturers to accelerate development and certification while focusing their resources on innovation and differentiation.

Management emphasized that QOS 8.0 offers developers a powerful platform that unites safety, security and performance.

BlackBerry Limited Price and Consensus

BlackBerry Limited price-consensus-chart | BlackBerry Limited Quote

As embedded systems evolve with AI, IoT and edge computing, developers must meet strict safety and cybersecurity standards while speeding time to market. QOS 8.0 addresses these challenges by delivering a high-performance, hard real-time operating system aligned with global standards, including ISO 26262 ASIL-D, IEC 61508 SIL3, IEC 62304 Class C and ISO/SAE 21434. Designed as a certified Safety Element out of Context (SEooC), it can be seamlessly integrated into a wide range of safety- and security-critical systems, streamlining compliance and reducing time to market.

The upgraded microkernel architecture of QOS 8.0 has been engineered to maximize future silicon advancements, ensuring fast, consistent, real-time performance in demanding environments. The platform includes a fully featured hard real-time OS, qualified C/C++ toolchains and key safety and security artifacts designed to simplify the certification of complex embedded applications.

BlackBerry’s QNX Sees Strong Growth

BlackBerry’s QNX business is gaining from strength in the automotive segment, particularly strong demand for its solutions across the advanced driver assistance systems market and digital cockpit domain. The rapid adoption of the QNX platform in both the Auto and General Embedded markets is a positive factor. Continued design win momentum is anticipated to further strengthen the QNX royalty backlog.

In first-quarter fiscal 2026, revenues from the QNX business totaled $57.5 million, surpassing the high end of guidance ($51-$55 million). The growth was mainly driven by a 9% increase in royalties and a 23% rise in development seat license revenues. The company continued its design win momentum in the core digital cockpit and ADAS. GEM now makes up 43% of the total SDP 8.0 pipeline, which grew 55% in the quarter. The increasing adoption of the next-generation version of the QNX operating system, SDP 8.0, in the Auto and General Embedded market and the release of the QNX General Embedded Development Platform and QNX Hypervisor 8.0 are positive factors.

Growing momentum in QNX Cabin with multi-year deal wins from the top 10 global auto OEMs further cushions its prospects. BlackBerry has two main growth strategies: expanding beyond automotive into areas such as robotics, industrial automation and medical devices, and growing its role in cars by offering built-in middleware. These new markets are large and growing, and QNX can support them with minimal changes.

BB’s Zacks Rank & Stock Price Performance

BB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of the company have gained 52.3% in the past year compared with the Zacks Internet - Software industry’s growth of 37.5%.

Stocks to Consider From the Internet Software Space

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader technology space are Astera Labs, Inc. ALAB, Paychex, Inc. PAYX and Magnite, Inc. MGNI. ALAB sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while PAYX and MGNI carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Paychex’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 1.27%. In the last reported quarter, PAYX delivered an earnings surprise of 0.85%. Its shares have increased 8.6% in the past year.

Magnite’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 30.98%. In the last reported quarter, MGNI delivered an earnings surprise of 17.65%. Its shares have surged 61.8% in the past year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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