Microsoft in talks to buy speech technology firm Nuance Communications – report

Microsoft is said to be in advanced talks to buy the artificial intelligence and speech technology company Nuance Communications, Bloomberg reported late Sunday, April 11.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the price being discussed could potentially value Nuance at around $56 a share, or an equity value of around $16 billion.

Bloomberg’s sources say talks are ongoing, and could still unravel.

Nuance’s voice recognition technology helped to bring about the Siri voice software used by Apple.

A buyout for Nuance could be seen as an attempt for Microsoft to bake in more artificial intelligence and speech recognition systems into its existing stable of products, as well as improve its chances of getting into other markets, such as the healthcare industry.

Both Microsoft and Nuance did not comment on the matter. – Rappler.com