Microsoft Says Buying Speech Recognition Service Nuance For $16Bln

Microsoft Says Buying Speech Recognition Service Nuance for $16Bln

Microsoft said on Monday it was buying speech recognition company Communications for $16 billion to deepen its foray into artificial intelligence (AI), in what would be its biggest acquisition since the 2016 purchase of professional networking site LinkedIn

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) microsoft said on Monday it was buying speech recognition company Communications for $16 billion to deepen its foray into artificial intelligence (AI), in what would be its biggest acquisition since the 2016 purchase of professional networking site LinkedIn.

"Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI," said Satya Nadella, Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer. "AI is technology's most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application."

Microsoft said it would pay $56 for a share of Nuance, or about 23 percent above that company's closing price on Friday.

Microsoft has been on the prowl for acquisitions that could fuel growth, after its failed attempt last year to acquire the US business of Chinese video making app TikTok for $30 billion. Last month, it completed a $7.6 billion purchase of gaming company Zenimax, and has entered talks since to buy chat application Discord for about $10 billion.

Nuance derives revenue by selling tools for recognizing and transcribing speech in doctor's visits, customer-service calls and voicemails.

Microsoft said the service will better drive its decision-making in AI and create more meaningful growth for its cloud-based healthcare division.