By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Microsoft stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 2% Friday on a Reuters report that the software giant is set to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $16-billion bid for artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN).
Broader market gains, coming in even as the U.S. consumer inflation jumped to a 39-year-high, were also feeding into the gains in the stock.
The approval is likely to come by December 21 when the European Commission, the apex decision-making body of the bloc, meets, according to Reuters.
U.S. and Australia have already approved the deal.
Nuance claims to serve almost four out of every five hospitals in the U.S. and is known for pioneering speech technology and helping launch Apple’s Siri.
It provides intelligent solutions including clinical speech recognition, medical transcription and medical imaging.
AI is the next hotbed for competition among tech giants as companies increasingly embrace the technology for enhanced efficiency, better customer relationship and lower costs.
"This acquisition brings our technology directly into the physician and patient loop, which is central to all healthcare delivery. The acquisition will also expand our leadership in cross-industry enterprise AI and biometric security," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had said in an investor call, according to Reuters.