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Microsoft acquires voice recognition company Nuance for $19.7 billion

There are reports that Microsoft is negotiating an acquisition with Nuance, a developer of artificial intelligence and voice technology. Nuance is well-known for developing the technology behind Siri, Apple’s voice-recognition assistant.

Reportedly, Microsoft plans to take over the payback for $16 billion, valuation of shares issued by Nuance at $56 per share. According to reports, there is a possibility that an agreement to take over will be announced in the third week of April 2021. However, it is said that negotiations are underway and may be stopped.

Since Siri, a speech recognition assistant developed by Apple, uses the speech recognition engine developed by Nuance, some point out that the success of the Microsoft acquisition could have a big impact on Apple as well. Since 2019, Microsoft and Nuance have been collaborating on the development of a technology that can record voice conversations and input this data into electronic medical records when examining patients. It is also said that the Nuance technology is also being used for Microsoft Teams telemedicine related functions.

Meanwhile, shortly after the report, Microsoft announced on April 12 (local time) that it had agreed to an acquisition agreement with Nuance Communications. The acquisition amount was $19.7 billion. The aim is to strengthen the healthcare business developed by Microsoft by selecting technologies using AI and cloud in the medical field possessed by Nuance.

In fact, it is said that Nuance products are used by more than 55% of doctors in the United States, more than 75% of radiation, and 77% in American hospitals. Nuance technology is strong in the medical field and has products such as Dragon Medical One, which allows doctors and clinicians to write documents such as voice input and medical records.

Microsoft CEO Satia Nadella said AI is the most important priority of technology and healthcare is the most urgent application.With the nuances, advanced AI solutions are handed over to experts to facilitate better decision making and create more meaningful relationships I emphasized that I would.

Nuance has not only health, but also voice recognition and virtual assistant technology. There is a possibility that it will be used in the Cortana enhancement or Cortana alternative voice assistant in the future. For reference, Cortana itself is moving from a general voice assistant to an AI assistant that focuses on productivity, which is used for Microsoft 365 and others.

Of course, regulatory review will go into the acquisition, but the transaction itself is expected to be completed within this year. Related information can be found here.

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Through the monthly AHC PC and HowPC magazine era, he has watched 'technology age' in online IT media such as ZDNet, electronic newspaper Internet manager, editor of Consumer Journal Ivers, TechHolic publisher, and editor of Venture Square. I am curious about this market that is still full of vitality.

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