What Microsoft's $19.7 billion purchase of Nuance could mean for AI and speech tech

Microsoft is buying AI company Nuance and it will accelerate Microsoft's industry cloud strategy for healthcare and could lead to other integrations in ambient AI. Microsoft Corp. announced on Monday that it is buying Nuance Communications for $19.7 billion and expects the deal to close this year. Nuance is an artificial intelligence company well known for its Dragon speech recognition software in the healthcare industry. Nuance's products are used by more than 55% of physicians and 75% of radiologists in the U.S., and in 77% of U.S. hospitals, according to Microsoft's press release.