BlackBerry’s back in the driver’s seat

Pop the champagne corks, folks. Last week’s announcement of a massive $350.5-million investment in BlackBerry was one of the surest signs yet that after years of getting knocked down, the iconic Canadian tech firm is on its way back up again.

When the company that was born in Waterloo Region emerged as the world’s smartphone king in the early 2000s, this community not only cheered it on but benefited from thousands of new jobs, the creation of spinoff companies and wild economic growth.

But when rivals such as Apple and Samsung unexpectedly knocked BlackBerry off its smartphone throne earlier this decade, this community was hit with thousands of job losses, not to mention gutwrenching doubts about its future as one of Canada’s premier tech hubs.

We’re not saying the new funding announced last Friday in Ottawa — $40 million from the federal government and $310.5 from the company itself — will restore BlackBerry to its former glory, at least not overnight.

But it was definite proof the company is growing again. Proof it has made the tricky transition from being celebrated as a maker of hand-held devices to a software and services marvel. Proof it is here for the long haul. Proof Waterloo Region can still be proud of a company that started and remains a going concern locally.

The massive investment reported last week will be pumped into BlackBerry’s QNX division in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. The aim is to help the company expand its role as an autonomous vehicle software provider and, in addition, create 800 new jobs.

Developed by University of Waterloo graduates Dan Dodge and Gordon Bell, the QNX software is used in hospital equipment, nuclear power plants and — what could be most crucial to BlackBerry’s prospects — more than 120 million motor vehicles for infotainment consoles, driver assistance and hands-free driving.

If the future of cars, SUVs and trucks are driverless vehicles, BlackBerry is determined to be a major player in what’s just down the road. And don’t imagine science fiction, think science fact.

Think of the software tools that have already revolutionized motor vehicles with automated control systems, improved in-vehicle communications and driver assistance systems. Think how different a car made in 2019 is from what rolled out of the factories a decade ago. BlackBerry wants to take that revolution to a new level.

Other tech companies have the same ambitions. But BlackBerry’s stable, secure QNX technology has been embraced by General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen and Porsche. It has an established track record to build upon.

Don’t take our word for it, either. Listen to Macquarie Research analyst Gus Papageorgiou who last week predicted: “QNX will be the Microsoft Office of the new world. It has the chance of being the core operating system in the connected car.”

We know taxpayer support for private companies can be controversial. In this case, however, the $40 million Ottawa is contributing to BlackBerry is an entirely reasonable investment considering the central role this company, and Canadians, can play in the future of autonomous vehicles.

And so give credit to the federal government for providing this backing. Give even more credit to BlackBerry chief executive John Chen for engineering BlackBerry’s recent pivot. And don’t forget BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis, who shrewdly bought QNX Software Systems and made QNX part of his company nearly 10 years ago.

Thanks to them all, BlackBerry’s story is no longer about what it was but what it can become.