BlackBerry Ltd said China’s TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd would make and sell BlackBerry-branded mobile devices globally, the Canadian smartphone pioneer’s first licensing deal since its transition to a software company.

The devices made by TCL, which also makes Alcatel-branded mobile devices, will be coupled with BlackBerry’s security software and service suite, the company said on Thursday.

BlackBerry is betting its future on the more profitable business of making software and managing mobile devices after largely ceding the smartphone market to rivals such as Apple and Samsung

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