Gasgoo learned on Jan. 7 that QNX, a business unit of BlackBerry Limited, has partnered with automotive software tool provider Vector to unveil Alloy Kore, a foundational vehicle software platform. Designed to tackle the growing complexity of modern automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures — especially in software-defined vehicle development — the platform gives automakers a safety-certified, robust and scalable software base to shorten development cycles.
As software-defined vehicles (SDVs) evolve, integrating and certifying the base software layer has become a major headache for OEMs, soaking up engineering resources and crimping higher-value innovation at the application layer. The industry needs standardized core software from trusted suppliers. Alloy Kore answers that call: it integrates QNX's safety-certified real-time operating system and virtualization technology with Vector's proven functional safety middleware, creating a lightweight runtime that can be deployed across domains. By providing a unified underlying software stack, the platform sharply cuts integration workload and frees OEM R&D to focus on differentiated user experiences.
An early-access version is already available to select automakers. Mercedes-Benz and others are evaluating its use in next-generation centralized E/E architectures to support high-performance domain controllers and fleet-scale OTA software updates, decoupling hardware from software development. According to the plan, the final release of Alloy Kore is expected to complete all safety certifications by late 2026, meeting the highest functional safety level ASIL D as well as the ISO/SAE 21434 cybersecurity standard.
"The complexity of SDV development is growing exponentially, but the answer isn't 'build more,' it's 'build smarter,'" said John Wall, president of QNX. "By taming the complexity of the underlying vehicle software with Alloy Kore, we let OEMs put their engineering talent into what truly defines the brand — from intelligent driver assistance to personalized in-cabin experiences."
QNX and Vector also aim to build an open ecosystem with passenger and commercial vehicle OEMs and industry associations, pushing Alloy Kore as a reference architecture to accelerate innovation and improve interoperability across the automotive stack. The commitment reflects a shared vision: to drive next-generation mobility with open standards, safety and performance.
Vector President Matthias Traub added that the platform spares automakers from re-developing base software for every new program, replacing it with a scalable, modular solution that lowers integration costs and speeds iterative innovation. Through partnerships across the industry, the two companies hope to make Alloy Kore an open reference architecture and advance interoperability in automotive software.
