Canada-based smartphone manufacturer Blackberry has invested an undisclosed investment in NantHealth, a cloud-based medical IT provider, as part of a partnership to develop integrated clinical systems for medical care.
The smartphone maker has seen its market share decline over the past few years as it faced stiff competition from competitors Apple and Samsung,
The deal represents a new strategy from Blackberry to focus on niche markets to bolster its fortunes. The hope is that Blackberry’s secure communication platforms will be well suited to the medical industry’s needs for privacy, allowing medical professionals to share sensitive data securely over the cloud.
Blackberry CEO John Chen said: “Healthcare is one of the key industries in which we have unique advantages and this investment reflects our commitment to maximise our opportunities there.”
The investment will be used to further expand NantHealth’s technology into more hospitals medical practices, and the partnership could yield a new medical-industry specific smartphone by the end of the year. NantHealth previously raised an undislosed sum from telecommunications company Verizon’s corporate venturing fund in 2012.