Microsoft to buy Nuance in $19.7bn bet on healthcare AI

Microsoft is making a massive bet on healthcare AI, buying Nuance Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $19.7bn.

Microsoft Corp. is buying speech technology company Nuance Communications Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $19.7 billion, including debt, making a massive bet on health care artificial intelligence. The software giant is offering to purchase Nuance at $56 a share, a 23% premium to Friday’s close, according to a statement Monday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg report. The deal marks Microsoft’s largest acquisition since LinkedIn Corp. The deal will “minimally” decrease earnings in the year that begins July 1 and start to add to profit the following year, Microsoft said. Microsoft is tapping the company tied to the Siri voice technology to develop solutions that free doctors from note-taking and better predict a patient’s needs. It has been working with Nuance for two years on AI software that helps clinicians capture patient discussions and integrate them into electronic health records, and combining the speech technology company’s products into its Teams chat app for telehealth appointments.