
Please try another search
By Chavi Mehta and Krystal Hu
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) said on Monday it would buy artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN) Inc for about $16 billion, as it builds out its cloud strategy for healthcare and enterprise customers.
The deal comes after the companies partnered in 2019 to automate clinical administrative work such as documentation and as Microsoft tries to extend its leadership in vertical cloud solutions in major industries including healthcare.
"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 said on an investor call.
Nuance, known for pioneering speech technology and helping launch Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s assistant Siri, has been doubling down on healthcare and enterprise AI. The company has spun off and sold a number of less profitable business units.
"Nuance has been in the midst of an unprecedented strategic turnaround the last few years under the leadership of CEO Mark Benjamin and we believe the company represents a unique asset on the healthcare front for" Microsoft, Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush wrote in a note on Monday. "We also believe Microsoft can further integrate Nuance's advanced speech technology throughout its consumer and enterprise ecosystem over the coming years to leverage this M&A move."
With operations in 28 countries, the Burlington, Massachusetts-based company reported $1.5 billion in revenue in fiscal-year 2020.
The company said it serves 77% of U.S. hospitals, providing intelligent solutions including clinical speech recognition, medical transcription and medical imaging.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.