Microsoft to acquire speech recognition firm Nuance communications for $19.7 billion

Microsoft Corp. on April 12 announced that it would buy artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications Inc. for about $19.7 billion, as it expands cloud solutions for healthcare customers amid pandemic. Nuance’s technology includes a conversational AI tool that is versed in specialized medical terms and this could free doctors of note-taking and enhance the physician-patient relationship. The technology is currently used for securing medical records and is currently used in over three-quarters of American hospitals.

"Microsoft has accelerated its efforts to provide industry-specific cloud offerings to support customers and partners as they respond to disruption and new opportunities. These efforts include the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, introduced in 2020, which aims to address the comprehensive needs of the rapidly transforming and growing healthcare industry. Today’s acquisition announcement represents the latest step in Microsoft’s industry-specific cloud strategy," the firm said in a statement. 

Speaking at a briefing on Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella asserted that Nuance has “completely redefined” clinical documentation by “capturing and contextualizing every word of a physician-patient encounter and also by simultaneously documenting it.” At present, the nuance technology is being used by over 55 per cent of physicians and 75 per cent radiologist in the US but Microsoft touted that with the advent of the deal, its market potential would rise to double.

Existing partnership in Telemedicine

Both Microsoft and Nuance have already been partnering in telemedicine since 2019 and the new deal would further enhance their relationship. Last year, the Redmond, Washington-based giant integrated Nuance Communication's Dragon Ambient eXperience program into its Teams communications software, which enables the remote transcription of medical conversations." While Nuance is currently limited to the healthcare sector, Microsoft also sees the potential to expand it to other fields like finance amongst others.

Nuance is an American multinational computer software technology corporation. It provides  AI expertise and customer engagement solutions across Interactive Voice Response (IVR), virtual assistants, and digital and biometric solutions to companies around the world across all industries. Nuance provides AI expertise and customer engagement solutions across Interactive Voice Response (IVR), virtual assistants, and digital and biometric solutions to companies around the world across all industries. 

Image: PTI/NuanceInc/Twitter