Mr. Grant Courville reports

QNX DOUBLES DOWN ON DEVELOPER SUPPORT TO FUEL EMBEDDED SOFTWARE INNOVATION EVERYWHERE

QNX, a division of BlackBerry Ltd., today reaffirmed its commitment to making its high performance foundational software more broadly available for non-commercial use with a view to making embedded systems learning, experimentation and innovation easier than ever before.

As part of the QNX Everywhere initiative, which seeks to nurture and grow QNX's worldwide developer community, students, schools, research organizations and hobbyists can now quickly and easily gain free access to the QNX Software Development Platform (SDP) 8.0, along with complimentary resources and on-demand training to empower budding developers to sharpen their skills and build groundbreaking solutions and demos.

Bridging the skills gap for a software-defined future

As industries like automotive, industrial, robotics and medical advance toward a software-defined future, the demand for skilled software engineers proficient in the world's leading platforms and technologies continues to surge. In response to this, the QNX Everywhere initiative was established to deliver critical education and resources, enabling the next generation of engineers to possess the skills and technical know-how to thrive and shape the future of the embedded world.

"Software engineering is the cornerstone of our future, enabling us to tackle society's most complex challenges, from autonomous driving to robotic surgery," said Grant Courville, senior vice-president, products and strategy, QNX. "As our reliance on intelligent, connected technologies grows, initiatives like QNX Everywhere are crucial in making learning more accessible, providing developers with cutting-edge tools and technologies to fuel exploration, creativity and problem solving like never before. We're thrilled to expand access to QNX software for non-commercial use on a large-scale basis for the first time ever, and we can't wait to see the countless innovations it's sure to spark."

Fostering collaborative and community-driven innovations

As part of the rollout, QNX has added dedicated developer relations specialists who will actively engage within the GitLab and GitHub communities and QNX developer forums on Reddit (r/QNX) and Stack Overflow (#QNX). With a vibrant -- and growing -- on-line community of QNX novices and experts, aspiring engineers will be able to connect with fellow QNX developers from around the world to share insights, collaborate on open-source projects and troubleshoot challenges together. QNX has also struck agreements with a handful of universities and colleges in Canada, the U.S., South Korea, Europe and India as part of a 'one-to-many' model that equips entire classes and labs, putting QNX software licences directly into the hands of faculty, undergraduate and graduate co-op students looking to burnish their skills and advance their research projects.

Friction-free access to QNX software

Developers looking to get started right away will receive:

• QNX SDP 8 single user non-commercial perpetual development licence;
• Raspberry Pi 4 prebuilt quick start target image and associated add-on components (rendering applications, graphics, touch screen, camera, wired and Wi-Fi network support, USB storage, and more);
• Access to additional QNX open-source ports and optimized source code;
• Access to engineering-led tutorial content like accessible how-to videos explaining embedded systems software development and operating system concepts.

"Whether you're an aerospace enthusiast looking for a software platform to launch and guide model rockets into space, an aspiring engineer aiming to develop autonomous robot prototypes or a retro gaming fan wanting to build a custom console, QNX Everywhere can help you get there," added Mr. Courville.

Future growth: scaling QNX Everywhere through global engagement

Future plans on the QNX Everywhere roadmap include establishing additional postsecondary computer science and engineering program collaborations as well as involvement in developer events and more. As the program and ecosystem evolves, QNX will also look to expand its reference materials, increase product source code availability, and offer additional optimized open-source ports and prebuilt software packages to enhance developer support.

About BlackBerry Ltd.

BlackBerry provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company's software powers over 255 million vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ont., the company leverages AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions and is a leader in the areas of end point management, end point security, encryption and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear -- to secure a connected future you can trust.

About QNX

QNX, a division of BlackBerry, enhances the human experience and amplifies technology-driven industries, providing a trusted foundation for software-defined businesses to thrive. The business leads the way in delivering safe and secure operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions and development tools, along with support and services delivered by trusted embedded software experts. QNX technology has been deployed in the world's most critical embedded systems, including more than 255 million vehicles on the road today. QNX software is trusted across industries including automotive, medical devices, industrial controls, robotics, commercial vehicles, rail, and aerospace and defence. Founded in 1980, QNX is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.