CES 2024: Rumor Mill

It's never good to get a reputation for spreading rumors. But sometimes the rumors are so juicy or so potentially plausible that they are worth sharing and, shall we say, "exploring."

The first rumor is a perennial favorite of mine and I have speculated on this many times in the past. This is that Apple will buy map maker TomTom.

Apple and TomTom have been collaborating around map and traffic data for more than a decade. Apple gets TomTom maps and TomTom gets floating phone data to enhance its traffic information. TomTom's standing in traffic and routing skyrocketed after the original collaboration with Apple.

It would appear that TomTom gets more out of the Apple collaboration than does Apple. Apple has increasingly turned to alternative map sources in a wide range of markets around the world. And TomTom's ability to identify real-time map changes never lived up to Apple expectations.

Via an acquisition, Apple could more aggressively direct TomTom's data collection and aggregation activities to correct weaknesses in Apple's own mapping and guidance. The two organizations could also rationalize their data collection and processing activities.

Of course, if Apple is getting the milk, why buy the cow? It's a good question. In a world increasingly defined by location analytics Apple may want to take direct ownership of this proposition rather than simply being another customer. The acquisition would also elevate Apple's role in the Overture collaboration with AWS, Meta, and Microsoft.

The acquisition would fall in the category of "interesting" but not exactly earth shaking. It would be interesting to see whether Apple could take map making and location analytics into some new directions - particularly given the company's rigid privacy protocols.

Finally, an Apple acquisition of TomTom would be especially propititious with Apple on the verge of launching CarPlay 2.0 - a dashboard takeover heavily laden with location-centric solutions. Apple will need all the help it can get.

The other more significant and even more speculative rumor is an Amazon acquisition of Blackberry. Amazon's AWS cloud team is currently working closely with Blackberry on the Blackberry IVY application platform. IVY is something of a Swiss army knife of automotive applications revolving around safety and location.

Obviously, an acquisition of Blackberry would be driven by Amazon's interest in the QNX real-time operating system widely deployed in automotive, medical, and industrial automation markets. Such an acquisition has a precedent: Amazon's purchase in 2017 of FreeRTOS an open source IoT-focused operating system used across a broad swath of industries and applications.

I have to be honest, this bit of speculation was "whispered into my ear" figuratively by a Blackberry investor after the Blackberry Analyst Summit in New York City. The speculative pitch for an Amazon-Blackberry tie-up was as follows:

"At minimum I think Amazon will buy the IoT division. Amazon will never let some random company own 50% of IVY. There are so many synergies and value adds for Amazon owning BlackBerry, both IoT and Cyber. QNX Accelerate is an example which is on the AWS cloud and helps on board long term IoT cloud opportunities.

"Bringing back the phone with Alexa embedded would be a benefit to Amazon/AWS and would also provided additional cloud opportunities, a secure partitioned (hypervisor) device running QNX and Andriod OS’s to solve the “Bring your Own Device” problem and a seemless interface with the vehicle similar to the Nio, Geely and Tesla initiatives. Cyber would get AWS deeper into government and large enterprise considering AWS dominance has historically mostly been in SMB. AWS could help Cylance in the SMB markets. It’s seems like a no brainer for an Amazon buyout."

So, there you have the Amazon-Blackberry speculation in a nutshell. From my perspective it does make sense that Amazon/AWS would view Blackberry/QNX as an essential asset to exploit its already substantial footprint in the automotive industry - and others.

Microsoft Azure leverages Microsoft's enterprise presence. Google leverages and integrates Android to its advantage - to say nothing of search and advertising. Amazon would gain a variety of benefits from a Blackberry integration.

It would certainly fit nicely into the portfolio of its Graviton development tools, Alexa voice assistant, Fleetwise, and navigation and e-commerce assets and offerings. Something of a one-stop shop with a focus on safety and security.

Well, in the end, these are simply rumors. It's amusing to consider the possibilities and what better time than while at CES 2024!