MIH Consortium taps BlackBerry to accelerate EV development

31 July 2023

The world of electric vehicles is in for a boost as the MIH Consortium, a venture initiated by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd, more commonly known as Foxconn, has joined hands with BlackBerry Limited to turbocharge its electric vehicle development projects.

You might remember BlackBerry as that device you were hooked onto before Apple stole the show, right? Well, the once smartphone tycoon fell out of that race, but it retains its expertise into the realm of software development and cybersecurity, providing solutions for companies worldwide.

As a part of this alliance, the MIH Consortium will integrate a variety of BlackBerry's software and services in its electric vehicle platform. The intention here is to design an open and agnostic platform, essentially turning it into a sandbox where innovators can play with their out-of-the-box ideas.

The scope of this collaboration goes beyond conventional vehicles. The MIH Consortium aims to revamp the landscape of smart living and green logistics by crafting intelligent user experiences. Thus, positioning BlackBerry as the keystone to its future plans. According to Jack Cheng, the Chief Executive Officer at MIH Consortium, the shared vision of MIH and BlackBerry to transform the EV industry instills confidence in the prospects of their partnership.

One of the projects under this partnership, codenamed Project X, is set to stun Asian consumers with a sleek, single-row, three-seater EV, expected to debut in Japan by late 2023. MIH also plans to roll out six-seater and nine-seater vehicle platforms to cover a broad spectrum of customer needs, thus stoking the fires of innovation.

By leveraging BlackBerry's QNX platform and the award-winning BlackBerry IVY, a cloud-connected automotive AI platform, MIH Consortium hopes to gain an edge in the increasingly competitive EV industry. The comprehensive deal includes the utilization of QNX Software Development Platform licenses, QNX middleware technologies, system-level integration, performance optimization, and solution validation services.

Mattias Eriksson, president of BlackBerry IoT, noted that BlackBerry's role is to provide reliable foundational software, akin to 'plumbing,' so that companies can focus on creating customer-centric applications. This approach not only speeds up development but also improves safety and security, all while keeping costs in check.

With this partnership, BlackBerry and the MIH Consortium aim to redefine the future of mobility, stirring up a storm of innovations in the EV industry. And who knows? This might just be the beginning of BlackBerry's comeback, not as a smartphone kingpin but as a leader in the EV software revolution.

Via