BlackBerry reinvented: CEO sees big opportunities AI-powered robots

BlackBerry CEO John Giamatteo sees artificial intelligence-powered robots as a major growth opportunity for the former smartphone king.

Once one of the world's biggest mobile phone makers, Canada-based BlackBerry has reinvented itself.

The company's QNX operating system, which provides underlying software for features ranging from braking systems to some semi-autonomous driving functions, is now embedded in more than 275 million vehicles worldwide. But the company is increasingly looking beyond the automotive industry to capitalize on the emerging market for physical AI.

"While the products we sell today can't be held in the palm of your hand, they're pervasive around you," Giamatteo told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday. "275 million cars, robots, governments, medical instrumentation, supply chain. That's the new BlackBerry, and that's what's driving all of our growth."

Robotics has already emerged as one of the fastest-growing businesses within QNX , according to Giamatteo. Unlike generative AI, which produces text and images, physical AI allows robots and other machines to interact with the real world. BlackBerry sees an opportunity to provide the underlying software that helps those machines operate safely and reliably, building on its experience in the automotive industry.

That opportunity is contributing to BlackBerry's growing backlog. The company recently announced that its QNX royalty backlog surpassed $1.2 billion, increasing by more than $250 million over two quarters. Giamatteo identified three drivers behind that growth: automakers' transition to more advanced computing systems, expanded software offerings, and emerging demand for physical AI applications.

Investors have taken notice of the turnaround. BlackBerry shares have surged 142% in 2026, following years of struggles for a company whose formerly ubiquitous handhelds with physical keyboards ruled the smartphone world before Apple's iPhone and other devices that were fully touchscreen. Back then called Research in Motion, the stock saw its market cap peak at nearly $85 billion in 2008, a year after the first iPhone. BlackBerry's current market cap is about $5.4 billion.

Giamatteo also highlighted BlackBerry's partnership with Nvidia , which began in the automotive sector. Nvidia has now "standardized on QNX as the platform of choice" for its Halos Safety Stack, Giamatteo said. "That has opened up so many doors, an incredible pipeline of opportunity, and these are things like AMRs (automated mobile robots), autonomous forklifts, skateboards that are driving pallets to the docking station."

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