Why BlackBerry Limited Stock Jumped Wednesday

What happened

Security software and services company BlackBerry's (NYSE: BB) stock jumped as much as 12.8% on Wednesday, and is up about 12.2% at the time of this writing.

The rise follows an announcement Wednesday morning that BlackBerry and Chinese online search company Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) are partnering to help accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicle technology. Specifically, an agreement between the two companies will make BlackBerry QNX the operating system platform for Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving open platform.

So what

"By integrating the BlackBerry QNX OS with the Apollo platform, we will enable carmakers to leap from prototype to production systems," said Li Zhenyu, general manager of BlackBerry's Intelligent Driving Group.

But integration could deepen in the future. Possible integration opportunities for multiple vehicle subsystems include infotainment, gateways, cloud services, and more, explained John Wall, BlackBerry's QNX senior vice president and general manager.

Now what

This integration not only highlights an important partnership between BlackBerry and Baidu, but it takes the Apollo technology one step closer to bringing to market a production-ready autonomous driving system in volume -- a move that would give both Baidu and BlackBerry greater exposure to a valuable, nascent market.

10 stocks we like better than BlackBerryWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and BlackBerry wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of January 2, 2018

Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Baidu. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.