BlackBerry Sells German R&D Center To Volkswagen

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

BlackBerry has sold an R&D center in Germany to Volkswagen, with VW picking up both the employees and other assets.

Volkswagen Infotainment will take over BlackBerry’s facilities in Bochum, Germany, along with 200 employees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. BlackBerry’s subsidiary QNX has established itself as a niche player in the in-car connectivity space, though it’s unclear whether there will be any links between the two companies.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Psarhjinian Psarhjinian on Jul 04, 2014

    Hmm.. It would be interesting to see if VW could or would acquire QNX in it's entirety. For one, that would mean Blackberry wouldn't own their own platform; for another, it would mean VW would own the platform that a lot of other OEMs use. Personally, I'd be sad to see QNX go, but perhaps in the era of rtLinux on one end and Windows Embedded (or whatever Microsoft is called it this week) it's kind of squeezed.

  • Stuntmonkey Stuntmonkey on Jul 04, 2014

    There's more to auto electronics than just the radio-navi controls. The system-level stuff (engine management, emissions, etc) is still where QNX would shine.

  • DrGastro997 DrGastro997 on Jul 04, 2014

    Is this one sign of Blackberry's slow disappearance? Despite being cash rich, it's not looking good for them. It's too bad because I loved my Blackberrys. There was something distinctive to them compared to other smarts.

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Jul 07, 2014

      Nah, they're just getting out of their German investment before it turns into another Opel.

  • The Heisenberg Cartel The Heisenberg Cartel on Jul 04, 2014

    So now will I be able to fix every problem on a VW with a battery pull?

    • See 4 previous
    • Compaq Deskpro Compaq Deskpro on Jul 07, 2014

      That's not how it is already?

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