BlackBerry has announced a partnership with Baidu to work together to accelerate the deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technology for automotive OEMs and suppliers worldwide.

The companies have signed a statement of intent to make BlackBerry QNXs ISO26262 ASIL-D certified safety operating system the foundation for Baidus Apollo autonomous driving open platform. The two companies will also work together to integrate Baidus CarLife, the smartphone integration software for connected cars in China, as well as its conversational AI system DuerOS, and high definition maps to run on the BlackBerry QNX Car (Infotainment) Platform.

“BlackBerry QNX has established itself as the OS platform for safety-certified production-based systems,” said Li Zhenyu, general manager of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group. “We aim to provide automakers with a clear and fast path to fully autonomous vehicle production, with safety and security as top priorities. By integrating the BlackBerry QNX OS with the Apollo platform, we will enable carmakers to leap from prototype to production systems. Together, we will work toward a technological and commercial ecosystem for autonomous driving, intelligent connectivity, and intelligent traffic systems.”

Announced by Baidu last April, Apollo is an open platform that provides a comprehensive, secure, and reliable solution that consists of cloud services, an open software stack, and reference hardware and vehicle platforms. It supports all major features and functions of an autonomous vehicle.

Apollo has now attracted over 70 global partners, including OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, developer platforms, and technology start-ups. The project was named after the historic lunar landing program to illustrate its scale and complexity.

BlackBerry currently provides OEMs around the world with cybersecurity technology to protect and mitigate hardware, software, applications and end-to-end systems from cyberattacks. BlackBerrys pedigree in security and continued innovation has led to recent automotive design wins with Delphi, Denso, Qualcomm, Visteon, and others.