Blackberry’s turnaround is in full swing, and the company’s CEO told Cheddar he’s expanding its software, cybersecurity, and automotive services to drive growth in 2018. “Our software are now embedded into a lot of the chipset or optimizers of people like Qualcomm,” John Chen said in an interview Wednesday. “The strength comes in from that.” Blackberry shares jumped to near three-year highs Wednesday, after the company reported earnings and revenue in the latest quarter above analyst estimates. While sales fell 25 percent from a year ago, the drop wasn’t as bad as expected. And profit came in at 3 cents a share, while analysts were expecting the company to break even. The company was a pioneer in the smartphone market, but lost ground to rivals like the iPhone and Samsung products. But it’s shifted into new areas. Chen said that, while Blackberry has been in the auto industry for about a decade, it began making a “major push” into the space four years ago. “We focused on designing new components of cars like lane-changing, advanced driver assistance, telematics that talk to the internet,” he said. The chief exec says 60 million cars on the road currently operate on Blackberry software.

Share:
More In Technology
Metaverse Real Estate Sales Top $500 Million
A new analysis shows that sales in the metaverse real estate land topped $500 million in 2021. The recent surge in sales came as a result of Facebook's decision to rebrand itself as Meta in hopes to focus more on the metaverse. According to investors and analytic firms, those numbers could jump even higher and reach a billion bucks by 2025. Ceo of Republic Realm, Janine Yorio, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Sony Responds to Microsoft, Acquiring Bungie For $3.6 Billion
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Google and AARP to Provide Digital Skills Training for Older, Low Income Workers
Google’s philanthropy arm, Google.org, recently announced a $10 million grant for the AARP Foundation to aid in teaching digital skills to low income older workers. As the implementation of hybrid work expands, a greater emphasis is being placed on helping workers 50 years old and up — especially among women and people of color — to be digitally literate in order to keep the workplace generationally diverse. Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of the AARP Foundation, joined Cheddar News to talk about the curriculum of the partnership. "Those of us who are 50 and older are not digital natives, so we do have a learning curve that we have to address," she noted.
Load More