BlackBerry, Qualcomm expand partnership to connected automotive

A banner for BlackBerry Ltd hangs to celebrate the company's transfer trading to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd <BB.TO> and Qualcomm Inc <QCOM.O> are expanding their partnership to tap the fast-growing connected automotive market, the companies said on Thursday.

BlackBerry, which has developed software QNX Hypervisor 2.0 to run complex computer systems in vehicles, said it would use Qualcomm's hardware in areas such as virtual cockpit controllers, electronic control gateways and infotainment systems.

QNX Hypervisor 2.0 was compatible with its Snapdragon 820Am automotive processor, Qualcomm said in June, enabling carmakers to reduce hardware complexity and costs by putting multiple systems on a single platform.

FILE PHOTO: A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen, as chip maker Broadcom Ltd announced an unsolicited bid to buy peer Qualcomm Inc for $103 billion, in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

The automotive industry is one of the fastest-growing segments of the technology market, as automakers race to add more autonomous features and ultimately seek to build self-driving cars.

Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple <AAPL.O>, said last year it would buy NXP Semiconductors <NXPI.O> for $38 billion to become the leading supplier to the fast-growing automotive chips market.

(Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)