Would Apple buy QNX?

Does anyone think that Apple might be trying to buy QNX for their car project? I would imagine that John Chen would drive a pretty hard bargain as BlackBerry's cash position is fairly stable at this time. If so, Apple may be opening an R&D facility in Kanata in an attempt to attract/poach the key engineers, etc. and put pressure on BlackBerry to sell. They may be after the talent as much as the technology.

It certainly could be an attractive proposition to get in on the ground floor for a division that could well grow into a major transportation company. Remember the most of these employees never signed on to QNX to work for BlackBerry. It can't be easy hearing that there more layoffs may be coming. It wouldn't be the first time that key personnel were hired away from a company only to see that company be acquired a couple of years later. If you were at QNX, you could end up leaving and later hiring your former boss to work under you.

Apple Said to Open R&D Facility in QNX Hometown Kanata - Mac Rumors

They'll just poach prime talent like they've been doing to Tesla and other automotive tech companies. You hire the brains not the company.

I doubt they would, since they already have CarPlay, plus why would BB sell?

Originally Posted by pkcable

I doubt they would, since they already have CarPlay, plus why would BB sell?

You need a lot more than CarPlay to build the brains of a car. As to why would BB sell, I'm guessing that they aren't. That's why Apple is starting up R&D operations next to QNX. If QNX starts to lose major talent then John Chen has to decide what the best thing to do about the asset is. It's not really part of BlackBerry's core business - especially if the handsets are going to run Android.

BlackBerry really isn't the right company to exploit QNX technology if it's really that important to the coming automotive revolution. A company like Apple doesn't just license core technology from another company - it has always tried to own it and can well afford to, now.

Apple got a lot of battery engineers from Tesla. QNX would seem to be ripe for acquiring some of the best automotive computing talent. Can John Chen afford to get into a salary war against Apple for QNX engineers in the middle of cost-cutting?

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Originally Posted by Ment

They'll just poach prime talent like they've been doing to Tesla and other automotive tech companies. You hire the brains not the company.

This. It's an interesting location to choose otherwise.

Originally Posted by pkcable

I doubt they would, since they already have CarPlay, plus why would BB sell?

Makes me curious based on Ment's comment above. 1) CarPlay is driven heavily by the mobile device itself and is user facing, not the underlying control of the vehicle software and 2) Apple likes control of the whole stack.

Right now I don't imagine BBRY would sell. But if QNX starts losing value (too much top talent departs, sales slow, strong competition from others) then it may become a tough decision point.

Originally Posted by TGR1

This. It's an interesting location to choose otherwise.


Makes me curious based on Ment's comment above. 1) CarPlay is driven heavily by the mobile device itself and is user facing, not the underlying control of the vehicle software and 2) Apple likes control of the whole stack.

Right now I don't imagine BBRY would sell. But if QNX starts losing value (too much top talent departs, sales slow, strong competition from others) then it may become a tough decision point.

Apple is a prime target for a cash-rich and juicy lawsuit. If they create the whole car thing themselves and something happens, they're in for big buck$, and they have them... whereas if the underlying security and safety related system is by someone else, they will limit their exposure.

Apple is great for intuitive, easy-to-use, consumer-facing UIs, not so for underlying software components and OS reliability and stability ...

Just imho, no flames... :-)



�   There's a Crack in the Berry right now...   �

Originally Posted by Prem WatsApp

Apple is a prime target for a cash-rich and juicy lawsuit. If they create the whole car thing themselves and something happens, they're in for big buck$, and they have them... whereas if the underlying security and safety related system is by someone else, they will limit their exposure.

Apple is great for intuitive, easy-to-use, consumer-facing UIs, not so for underlying software components and OS reliability and stability ...

Just imho, no flames... :-)



•   There's a Crack in the Berry right now...   •

Don't see that at all. Apple still would have a class-action lawsuit on their hands if they didn't properly vet a 3rd party solution. Just like the Takata air-bag recall, car manufacturer will bear the expense to replace them. They will be able to recover some of it from Takata but alot of it is on their own dime.

Besides thats even more reason to swipe key QNX employees, they have the experience and know-how to navigate the security and regulatory hurdles in producing an iCar so Apple doesn't end up in a Takata situation.

Would Blackberry hit with its own axe the leg?

Originally Posted by danifulger

Would Blackberry hit with its own axe the leg?

Don't they usually do that?

:laughing:

Originally Posted by thurask

Don't they usually do that?

Originally Posted by Prem WatsApp

Apple is a prime target for a cash-rich and juicy lawsuit. If they create the whole car thing themselves and something happens, they're in for big buck$, and they have them... whereas if the underlying security and safety related system is by someone else, they will limit their exposure.

Apple has decided to enter an industry where the products carry around people at high speeds so they obviously aren't shying away from liability. Neither would BlackBerry, a company about 1/100th of its size limit any product liability exposure. This exposure will definitely figure into the price of the product. If Apple can become the most valuable company, ever, based on an $800 iPhone then imagine what they can do with something that sells for 100 times more.

It would seem that QNX would be likely target of an acqui-hire, that is acquiring a company for its employees or simply to be raided for talent. If your current employer is cost-cutting and you are given the opportunity to move to a start-up operation that has practically unlimited funding that would be like being offered a job at Tesla when they had 20 employees but without the risk. Not to mention the opportunity to work on real vehicles rather than prototypes.

Originally Posted by danifulger

Would Blackberry hit with its own axe the leg?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5YWvvn4d4

The link above is more like BlackBerry. Start from the 25 second mark.

I highly doubt Apple would buy qnx. I'd be even more skeptical of blackberry trying to sell it since that's one of their largest growth opportunities. Apple probably wants to work closely with QNX so CarPlay is the best car experience instead of just relying on the manuals. Is buying a new corporate building kind of ridiculous for something like that? No, especially if you're Apple.