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BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) stock is surging higher in this week's trading. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, as of noon ET this Friday, the company's share price was up 9.7% from last week's market close.
BlackBerry's valuation is moving higher following the announcement of the company's QNX division, which specializes in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) software. QNX is teaming up with Pi Square Technologies to accelerate the adoption of its software platform in India.
BlackBerry stock surges on new partnership for its QNX division
QNX is offering a free, non-commercial version of its development platform in hopes of making its software a standard in the Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive software industries. By increasing the number of developers familiar with its development tools and standards, the company improves the chances that its software is adopted by businesses. Along those lines, the company has forged a new partnership with Pi Square Technologies.
BlackBerry announced the partnership with Pi Square in a press release published late Tuesday and said that the collaboration would help train thousands of software engineers in India to use QNX's platform. Pi Square will partner with hundreds of academic institutions in the country to teach the QNX Software Development Platform.
What comes next for BlackBerry?
BlackBerry's business is still in a transformational stage. The days of focusing on mobile hardware are long gone at this point, and the company has been focusing its efforts on IoT and cybersecurity. With BlackBerry recently completing the $160 million sale of its Cylance cybersecurity business to Arctic Wolf, the focus seems to be shifting even more heavily toward IoT software and services.
Last quarter, the company's revenue fell 7.4% year over year to $162 million. On the other hand, IoT revenue increased 13% on a sequential quarterly basis to reach roughly $62 million.
While BlackBerry's sales will face a tough basis of comparison this year following the sale of Cylance, the extra funds from the sale should allow the company to continue building out its IoT business and pursue potential acquisitions that could strengthen its position in the category. The stock continues to be a high-risk, high-reward play, but some pieces appear to be falling into place for the business.
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