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With 12,000+ licenses issued, more than 100 academic partnerships, and a surge in open-source innovation, QNX Everywhere is empowering the next generation of embedded systems developers
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA / ACCESS Newswire / January 6, 2026 / QNX, a division of BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), today announced its QNX Everywhere initiative - launched at CES 2025 to democratize non-commercial access to its QNX® Software Development Platform (SDP) 8.0 - has rapidly become a go-to platform for embedded developers across the globe. More than 12,000 non-commercial licenses have been issued and the business has rapidly expanded its presence in academia, signing 80 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with universities across India and striking collaborative agreements with many prominent institutions in North America, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while engaging with more than 6,000 students as part of a concerted push to integrate QNX's foundational tools and technologies directly into engineering curricula.
QNX's commitment to continuous learning
QNX Everywhere provides free access to QNX SDP 8.0 and QNX Hypervisor 8.0 for non-commercial use and aims to empower a broader developer community to explore, experiment, and build software with the same tools used in safety-critical sectors such as automotive, industrial automation, robotics, medical devices, and beyond. In tandem, the initiative seeks to address the growing global shortage of skilled embedded engineers; as industries shift toward software-defined architectures, the demand for talent capable of building safe, reliable, and real-time systems is outpacing supply.
"Using QNX in our student projects provides us an opportunity to utilize an industrial quality real-time operating system in use by many leading companies," said Dr. Gregory Long, Lecturer and Founding Lead Instructor at MIT New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET). "By using QNX we hope to provide our students additional leverage in their quest towards deploying high performing robotic systems."
To complement this initiative, QNX has also launched free online training courses designed to empower developers across all experience levels with high-quality, accessible education in embedded systems. Since its launch, the platform has seen remarkable engagement, with nearly 6,000 unique registered users logging training hours, underscoring the growing demand for scalable, self-paced learning. This milestone reflects QNX's deep commitment to nurturing a vibrant developer ecosystem and equipping the next generation of engineers with the tools to innovate confidently.
Driving innovation beyond commercial environments
Both in and out of the classroom, QNX has embarked on a multi-stop tour of embedded software evangelism and experimentation, supporting a number of hackathons (including HackaTUM in Germany and Hack the North in Canada), guest lectures, student-led projects and special engineering related events (including Queen's Industry Day and McMaster's Ctrl-Alt-Tech Industry Night). These engagements have sparked curiosity and excitement among students and hobbyists, many of whom are discovering QNX for the first time but are often at the forefront of innovation without the resources of large enterprises. Seasoned developers are also re-engaging with the platform, offering valuable feedback to help shape its future.
"Some of the most meaningful innovation happens outside of traditional commercial settings," said Grant Courville, SVP, Products and Strategy at QNX. "Academic institutions, open-source communities, and independent researchers often drive breakthroughs that can help reshape entire industries. QNX Everywhere is more than just an initiative, it's a movement; and the traction it has already fostered demonstrates the appetite the developer community has to learn and experiment with the technologies that serve as the foundation for so many industries that are increasingly becoming software defined. Whether you're a student, educator, hobbyist, or professional developer, we invite you to explore, build, and innovate for free with the same tools that power some of the world's most critical systems."
QNX Everywhere is fueling open-source creativity with standout projects including:
The York University Motorsport Club using QNX for vehicle cluster instrumentation within their Formula SAE competition car.
The University of Waterloo Robotics Team integrating QNX as a central control system for their competition rover vehicle.
A Street Fighter-inspired game built on QNX that uses custom GPIO hardware inputs and the QNX Screen library for graphics.
Opp Detector that uses a camera, facial recognition ML, and a custom servo implementation to squirt water at unauthorized intruders.
A 3D-printable robot arm project, complete with gamepad control driven through ROS2.
What's next for QNX Everywhere
Spurred by the interest and engagement with the initiative so far, QNX plans to continue introducing more pre-built software packages and optimized open-source ports, available at oss.qnx.com and gitlab.com/qnx, making it even easier for developers to get started and scale their projects, with support for Raspberry Pi 5 and self-hosting capabilities to simplify development.
QNX continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of automotive software through active participation in leading industry consortiums. As a voting member of the SOAFEE Special Interest Group and the foundational operating system provider for the Eclipse S-CORE Project, QNX is helping define open, safety-critical platforms that accelerate the development of software-defined vehicles and foster cross-industry collaboration.
QNX will be displaying a number of demos at CES from January 6 - 9, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including two robotic arms running on QNX open-source software and the QNX Developer Desktop which allows users to run a range of open-source development tools directly on QNX. Visit QNX at Booth #4024 in the West Hall or schedule a meeting with a spokesperson here.
To join the QNX developer community and get a free QNX® SDP 8.0 license for your personal non-commercial use, visit https://qnx.software/en/developers/get-started/qnx-everywhere. For faculty at academic institutions wishing to license QNX software for free on a multiuser basis, please visit https://qnx.software/en/developers/get-started/qnx-everywhere#qnx-in-education.
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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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