Star Metro - QNX and NVIDIA Deepen Collaboration to Advance Safety-Critical Edge AI Across Robotics, Medical, and Industrial Systems

HANNOVER, DE / ACCESS Newswire / April 20, 2026 / At Hannover Messe, QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today announced an expansion of its collaboration with NVIDIA to enable developers to build and deploy next‑generation, safety‑critical edge AI systems on NVIDIA IGX Thor. The expanded relationship sees QNX^® OS for Safety 8.0 integrated with NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Safety Stack, combining QNX's proven, deterministic real‑time operating system with NVIDIA's functional safety platform to support regulated, AI‑enabled systems across robotics, medical technologies, industrial applications and more.

A Unified Platform for Safety-Critical Edge AI

NVIDIA IGX Thor is designed to support the demanding compute, functional safety, and reliability requirements of edge AI systems deployed in regulated environments, from autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to humanoids, surgical robotics, medical imaging, and industrial automation platforms. When combining NVIDIA IGX Thor Halos Safety Stack with QNX OS for Safety 8.0, developers can consolidate real‑time controls and safety concepts on a deterministic, microkernel‑based RTOS while using NVIDIA accelerated compute for AI‑driven capabilities such as perception, planning, and decision‑making. This unified mixed-criticality approach consolidates system architectures, supports safety certification processes, and enables rapid, scalable development from early prototypes through production deployment.

"As robotics, medical, and industrial systems become more autonomous and software defined, safety and determinism cannot be afterthoughts," said John Wall, President, QNX. "Integrating QNX OS for Safety 8.0 with NVIDIA IGX Thor and NVIDIA Halos Safety Stack brings together a trusted real‑time safety foundation and a powerful functional safety platform for edge AI. This expanded collaboration builds on our work with the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor Development Kit and extends the same proven architecture from automotive into the next wave of regulated, intelligent systems."

Building on a Shared Commitment to Safety and Performance

The new milestone extends QNX's long‑standing relationship with NVIDIA and builds on their recent announcement highlighting the integration of QNX OS for Safety 8.0 with the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor Development Kit which aims to accelerate automotive and autonomous vehicle development. This latest collaboration underscores how the same proven safety architecture and trusted real‑time capabilities are now being applied far beyond the vehicle to robotics, medical, and industrial edge systems.

Apply for Early Access and Engage with Our Experts

Early Access registration is now open for the NVIDIA IGX Thor Developer Kit with QNX for select customers interested in developing on the platform.

QNX provides high-performance foundational software that helps simplify the most complex challenges in industries such as robotics, automotive, medical devices, industrial controls, commercial vehicles, rail, and aerospace and defense. QNX empowers organizations to unlock new possibilities in areas like high-performance computing at the edge, standards-based virtualization technologies, and cloud enablement. Trusted in the world's most critical systems, QNX continues to lead across a range of sectors, including robotics and healthcare, where its technology is deployed by nine of the top ten medical device manufacturers.

For more information on QNX, visit QNX.com and follow @QNX News.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) provides enterprises and governments the intelligent software and services that power the world around us. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company's high-performance foundational software enables major automakers and industrial giants alike to unlock transformative applications, drive new revenue streams and launch innovative business models, all without sacrificing safety, security, and reliability. With a deep heritage in Secure Communications, BlackBerry delivers operational resiliency with a comprehensive, highly secure, and extensively certified portfolio for mobile fortification, mission-critical communications, and critical events management.

About QNX

QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), enhances the human experience and amplifies technology-driven industries, providing a trusted foundation for software-defined businesses to thrive. The business leads the way in delivering safe and secure operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools, along with support and services delivered by trusted embedded software experts. QNX^® technology has been deployed in the world's most critical embedded systems, including more than 275 million vehicles on the road today. QNX^® software is trusted across industries including automotive, medical devices, industrial controls, robotics, commercial vehicles, rail, and aerospace and defense. Founded in 1980, QNX is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at qnx.com.

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SOURCE: QNX

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M.Johnston--SMC