BlackBerry’s post-phone identity is becoming clearer: embedded software, secure communications and a bet that safety-critical systems will matter more as cars and machines become more autonomous. In CNBC’s The Tech Download podcast and newsletter, CEO John Giamatteo said the company’s current products no longer resemble the handheld devices that once defined the brand, but are still built around security, trust and innovation. CNBC reports that two businesses now drive the bulk of BlackBerry’s revenue. One is secure communications, including encrypted products sold to customers such as governments. The other is QNX, BlackBerry’s operating-system and embedded-software business for vehicles. QNX sits inside automotive systems that CNBC says range from braking to some semi-autonomous driving functions. The business has become a strong player in safety-critical automotive software and is embedded in 275 million vehicles, according to BlackBerry. Giamatteo framed QNX as a bridge into what he called physical AI, a category that includes autonomous cars and robotics. The point, as presented by CNBC, is not consumer chatbots or software-only assistants, but AI systems that have to interact with the physical world and therefore face higher safety demands. The robotics push is also narrower than the humanoid-robot imagery now circulating around parts of the industry. CNBC reports that Giamatteo was referring to robots in industrial, factory and medical settings. He described robotics as one of the fastest-growing businesses inside the QNX portfolio. BlackBerry is already booking business tied to that direction, though the company did not break out the size of the robotics piece. Giamatteo told CNBC that BlackBerry has a $950 million backlog of QNX orders and that a portion of it is robotics, without disclosing specific robotics order numbers. Investors appear to be giving the company some credit for the repositioning. CNBC reports that BlackBerry’s share price has doubled this year, even though it remains far below its 2008 highs. The article ties that investor interest to the company’s focus on critical software for cars and secure communications, rather than any return to consumer phones. Who benefits: BlackBerry benefits if automotive and robotics customers continue to prioritize safety-certified embedded software. Customers in government communications, automotive systems and industrial or medical robotics are the user groups CNBC identifies in the current business mix. Who's exposed: The main exposure is execution and disclosure: robotics is described as fast-growing, but BlackBerry has not disclosed specific robotics order numbers in the CNBC account. Investors underwriting the pivot have limited detail on the size of that segment from this report alone.