QNX and NVIDIA Enhance Collaboration for Safety-Critical Edge AI in Robotics and Healthcare

Expanding Collaboration for Edge AI

On April 20, 2026, in Hannover, Germany, BlackBerry Limited's division, QNX, has made a significant announcement regarding the expansion of its collaboration with NVIDIA. This expanded partnership allows developers to build and deploy the next generation of safety-critical edge AI systems on NVIDIA's IGX Thor platform, integrating the QNX® OS for Safety 8.0 with the NVIDIA IGX Thor Halos Safety Stack.

This integration combines the proven deterministic real-time OS of QNX with NVIDIA's functional safety platform to support AI-enabled systems in highly regulated fields such as robotics, medical technology, and industrial applications.

A Unified Platform for Safety-Critical Edge AI

Designed to meet the demands of high-performance computing, functional safety, and reliability necessary for edge AI systems operating in regulated environments, the NVIDIA IGX Thor caters to various applications including Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), humanoids, surgical robots, medical imaging, and industrial automation platforms. By integrating QNX OS for Safety 8.0 with NVIDIA's Halos Safety Stack, developers can efficiently combine real-time control with safety concepts on a microkernel-based deterministic real-time OS, utilizing NVIDIA's accelerated computing for AI-driven functionalities such as perception, planning, and decision-making.

This consolidated approach to managing workloads of differing criticalities enables a unified system architecture while aiding safety certification processes. Moreover, it facilitates rapid and scalable development from initial prototypes to production environments.

John Wall, the President of QNX, stated, "As robotics, medical, and industrial systems move towards greater autonomy and software-defined capabilities, safety and deterministic operation are essential from the design phase. By integrating QNX OS for Safety 8.0 with NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Safety Stack, we are realizing a robust real-time safety foundation along with a powerful functional safety platform for edge AI. This expansion is a continuation of our work with the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor development kit, broadening our proven architecture in the automotive sector into next-gen intelligent systems that require regulatory compliance."

Commitment to Safety and Performance

The recent announcement regarding the adoption of QNX OS for Safety 8.0 in the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor development kit marks a significant step in the long-term relationship between QNX and NVIDIA aimed at fostering advancements in automotive and autonomous vehicle development. This new milestone illustrates how their established safety architecture and reliable real-time capabilities are extending beyond automotive frameworks to robotics, healthcare, and industrial edge systems.

Early access to the NVIDIA IGX Thor development kit featuring QNX is now available for select customers exploring development on this platform.

QNX’s high-performance foundational software supports an array of industries, including robotics, automotive, medical devices, industrial control systems, commercial vehicles, rail, aerospace, and defense—particularly assisting in simplifying complex challenges. QNX provides a foundation that unlocks new possibilities in edge high-performance computing, standards-compliant virtualization technology, and cloud readiness. With a proven track record in the most critical systems globally, QNX continues to lead diverse fields such as robotics and healthcare, with its technology utilized by nine out of the top ten medical device manufacturers.

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

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry provides intelligent software and services for enterprises and government agencies worldwide. Their high-performance foundational software enables major automakers and large enterprises to develop innovative applications, create new revenue streams, and deploy transformative business models without compromising safety, security, or reliability. Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, BlackBerry has a deep heritage in secure communications and offers operational resilience through their comprehensive and advanced security portfolio, large-scale certifications, and solutions for mobile device protection, mission-critical communication, and management of vital events. For additional information, please visit BlackBerry.com and follow @QNX News.

About QNX

QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB), enriches human experiences and expands the potential of technology-driven industries by providing a trusted foundation for software-defined enterprises. The division leads in providing secure and safety-oriented operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools, supported by trusted embedded software expertise and service. QNX technology is currently utilized in over 275 million vehicles and trusted in the world's most critical embedded systems across various industries, including automotive, medical devices, industrial control systems, robotics, commercial vehicles, rail, aerospace, and defense. Founded in 1980, QNX is based in Ottawa, Canada. For more details, visit qnx.com.

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