Credit: Microsoft
Almost a year after announcing the purchase plan, Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Nuance Communications Inc., officials announced on March 4. The deal has been subject to the usual scrutiny of regulators around the world since its inception. Microsoft announces plans to acquire Nuance in April 2021.
Nuance is an AI company specializing in speech recognition, software and related services. Microsoft pays 19.7 billion USD for Nuancemaking it the third largest acquisition to date, with Activision Blizzard ($68.7 billion) and LinkedIn ($26.2 billion) are number 1 and number 2.
While Nuance is best known for its work in healthcare, it is also present in a number of other top sectors that Microsoft targets, including financial services, retail, and telecommunications. Microsoft plans to use Nuance’s technology to create a variety of “vertically optimized AI” solutions.
“Customers will benefit from an enhanced consumer, patient, physician, and employee experience, and ultimately improved productivity and financial performance,” said the company’s March 4 press release. Microsoft said about the completion of the agreement.
Mark Benjamin will remain as CEO of Nuance and report directly to Microsoft Cloud+ AI Team Executive Vice President, Scott Guthrie.
Microsoft also announced today that Microsoft and Nuance are combining Nuance’s contact center solutions Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 customer service product to build provides a secure communication center, powered by AI.
