Microsoft to acquire speech recognition company Nuance in a $19.7 billion deal

Microsoft on Monday said that it is set to acquire speech recognition company Nuance Communication for an all-cash deal of $19.7 billion.

Being of the biggest tech deal of this year so far, the companies entered into an agreement wherein Microsoft will acquire Nuance for $56 per share, a 23% premium to its Friday’s close, according to the statement.

“Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said.

“AI is technology’s most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application,” he added.

Nuance is primarily known for its Dragon software, which over time improves its accuracy to transcribe speech by using deep learning.

Nuance most famous licensed tech includes Apple’s digital assistance Siri.

It would be Microsoft’s second largest deal, behind the acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016 for $26 billion.