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WARNING! This article contains spoilers for BlackBerry!The BlackBerry movie ends with the beginning of the downfall of Mike Lazaridis’ company, but only teases at what became of the real-life entrepreneur in the years after. BlackBerry’s true story depicts the rise and fall of the mobile phone line’s company RIM (Research in Motion), which made history for pioneering the smartphone. The movie follows RIM’s real-life co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) as they face legal trouble and professional hurdles, though their downfall is just beginning as the movie comes to a close.
BlackBerry’s movie ends in 2008 as Mike Lazaridis opens boxes of the new BlackBerry Storm, which now has a touchscreen and lost static noise after finally being made in China. This glimmer of hope occurs after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone in 2007, Mike is confronted by the SEC after being accused of stock manipulations, and Jim Balsillie takes the fall for the crime and resigns as RIM’s chairman once Mike gives the investigators full cooperation. Of course, history reveals that Lazaridis was already too late, as BlackBerry’s ending cuts to black long before the company officially fails and the phone is discontinued.
Mike Lazaridis Stepped Down From Being RIM’s Co-CEO In 2012
Approximately four years after the movie’s ending, Mike Lazaridis resigned from his position as co-CEO of RIM alongside BlackBerry’s real-life character Jim Balsillie. RIM was plagued with slow growth and obstacles with innovation and the ability to keep up with competition, eventually leading to Lazaridis and Balsillie’s resignations in 2012 and the company’s first report of net loss after several years. The two entrepreneurs were replaced by Thorsten Heins, who remained CEO of BlackBerry until 2013, when he was subsequently replaced by John Chen. The BlackBerry phone line was discontinued in 2016, only four years after Lazaridis’ resignation, with the phone’s services being officially decommissioned in 2022 (via BlackBerry’s website).
Mike Lazaridis Founded An Investment Company After BlackBerry
Mike Lazaridis left BlackBerry at the beginning of the company’s end, but he remained a wealthy man long after the film’s conclusion. In 2013, Lazaridis teamed back up with his RIM co-founder Doug Fregin to found Quantum Valley Investments. The investment company’s mission is to commercialize breakthrough technologies in Quantum Information Science, which contributes to their vision of a “Quantum Valley” in Waterloo (via Quantum Valley Investments’ website). The original minds behind BlackBerry still use their company to provide funds and support for researchers in the industry today.
In addition to managing Quantum Valley Investments, Lazaridis has been notable for his philanthropy, education donations, and awards after the timeline of BlackBerry’s ending. In 2012, he also donated $20 million to Wilfrid Laurier University in 2015, which funded a new tech-based management institute in the business school that was later named after the BlackBerry founder (via CBC). The real Mike Lazaridis was then elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014 for his contributions to improving science and technology.
Sources: BlackBerry, Quantum Valley Investments
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