Smartphone maker, BlackBerry said it has bought a minority stake in privately-held healthcare IT firm, NantHealth, run by American billionaire, Patrick Soon-Shiong.
NantHealth, a division of Soon-Shiong’s IT development company, NantWorks, will work with BlackBerry on ways to connect medical equipment with data centres and mobile devices used by doctors, the smartphone maker said.
John Chen, BlackBerry’s Chief Executive, sees healthcare as one of the sectors in which the company has an advantage, due to a heightened focus on patient privacy and BlackBerry’s array of networks that can manage and secure data on mobile devices.
According to Chen “BlackBerry’s capabilities align closely with NantHealth’s. This investment represents the type of forward-looking opportunities that are vital to our future.”
He said the deal with NantHealth exemplifies BlackBerry’s focus on the regulated industries such as healthcare.
