QNX Launchpad Introduced to Help Startups Build and Scale Mission

QNX Launchpad Introduced to Help Startups Build and Scale Mission-Critical Products

New program gives qualifying startups and SMBs access to commercial-grade software on terms designed to support early-stage growth

WATERLOO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 14, 2026 / QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today announced QNX® Launchpad, a new program designed to give startups and early stage companies the tools to more easily build commercial products for mission-critical environments from day one. QNX Launchpad provides eligible companies with access to production-ready foundational software under startup-friendly costs, which may permit more of their early budget to be available to invest in their product, team and growth.

Physical AI and software-defined systems such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), robotic arms, and surgical robots are moving rapidly from research labs into real world applications, with young, emerging companies helping transform countless industries seemingly virtually overnight. Amidst this backdrop, early software architectural decisions may be critical as they may have long-term implications on product safety, reliability, scalability and time to market. This is the trusted foundation that QNX has provided for nearly half a century across industries including automotive, industrial automation, robotics, medical devices, rail, and more.

Start with the platform your product can scale with

Early-stage teams may want to build on commercial-grade platforms, but upfront software costs may be difficult to justify while teams, budgets and revenues are still growing. QNX Launchpad helps lower that barrier by giving qualifying companies access to commercial QNX software development platform (SDP) 8.0, so architectural decisions may be guided by technical requirements rather than cost alone. With QNX Launchpad, teams can build on QNX from the start and continue using the same trusted technology foundation as their products mature from early-stage development to commercial deployment.

Supporting the next generation of mission-critical products

"Too many promising companies are forced to make foundational software decisions based on short-term budget realities, rather than what their products will ultimately need to perform safely and reliably in the real world," said Grant Courville, SVP of Product and Strategy at QNX. "QNX Launchpad changes that. It gives startups and emerging companies access to the same trusted technology foundation used in some of the world's most demanding systems, from the very beginning of their development journey. If a product is being built for commercial deployment, safety-critical environments or long-term scale, we believe the right foundation should not be something teams only reach for later. It should be there from day one."