Investing.com -- BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) shares jumped 13% Monday following positive press coverage in the Wall Street Journal highlighting the company’s transformation from a defunct smartphone maker to a profitable software provider.

The article detailed how BlackBerry’s QNX division, which produces operating system software for automotive safety features, now accounts for half of the company’s total revenue. The software is embedded in 275 million cars on the road today, powering collision warnings, blind-spot notifications, adaptive cruise control, and other driver assistance features.

BlackBerry has posted four consecutive profitable quarters for the first time since its phones competed with the iPhone. Since a bullish earnings call last month, the stock has risen 50%, though it remains down 96% from its peak market capitalization of $83 billion in 2008. The company is currently valued at $3 billion.

QNX President John Wall told the Journal that the division pivoted from car infotainment systems to safety-critical software in 2014 after losing ground to Google and Apple. The software’s reputation for reliability has expanded its use beyond automotive applications into medical devices, surgical robots, industrial automation, and factory floors.

The company’s CEO described BlackBerry as "now a growth story" during last month’s earnings call, marking a significant turnaround for the Canadian technology firm that abandoned hand-held devices a decade ago.

The QNX operating system is designed to never fail and has become the foundation for safety features that automakers depend on as vehicles become increasingly computerized.