Microsoft acquires Nuance

Dragon NaturallySpeaking. © Nuance Communications.

Microsoft is buying Nuance, a company specializing in artificial intelligence-based speech recognition technologies, for US$ 19.7 billion. The Redmond tech giant will pay US$ 56 per share for Nuance, a 23% premium over the closing price last Friday. Nuance is best known for its Dragon software, which uses deep learning to transcribe speech and improves its accuracy over time by adapting to the user’s voice. Nuance has also licensed its technology to a number of companies including Apple, which uses it for Siri, its digital assistant. Dragon NaturallySpeaking, originally released in 1997, was one of the first commercially available natural dictation products -- meaning software that did not require the user to pause between words. Nuance software is used by many people with disabilities, as well as healthcare professionals to transcribe notes into patient charts. Medical versions of Dragon are used by 77% of hospitals, 75% of radiologists, and 55% of physicians in the United States. The company also offers products dedicated to lawyers and law enforcement. The US$ 19.7 billion acquisition of Nuance is the second largest for Microsoft, after the 2016 acquisition of LinkedIn, for US$ 26 billion.

⇨ Ars Technica, Jim Salter, “Microsoft acquires Nuance—makers of Dragon speech rec—for $16 billion.”

2021-04-12