This is a play to dominate the AI provision and cloud infrastructure in the $10 TRILLION healthcare industry, using relationships Nuance already has as foundations.
This deal is about two things: healthcare AI provision and building on top of the existing partnerships Nuance has with core healthcare system providers. This was from Satya’s opening response to the first question he was asked, and it speaks volumes. “For us at Microsoft, to bring everything we’ve done in healthcare over the decades, with Nuance, with partners, that’s what this deal is all about.” Just read this quote from Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella’s interview with CNBC following the acquisition announcement: Nor is it about bolstering the existing Azure stack, necessarily Click To Tweet This deal is not about the Nuance legacy tech or it's standing in the speech AI industry. This is a play to dominate the AI provision (and, likely, cloud infrastructure) in the forecasted $10 TRILLION healthcare industry in the US, using the relationships Nuance already has as the foundations. Nor is it about bolstering the existing Azure stack, necessarily. This deal is not about the Nuance legacy tech or it’s standing in the speech AI industry. Why is Microsoft acquiring Nuance? The reality So we first thought the acquisition was a move to take all of the Nuance staff, IP and technology, and roll it all into the Azure Cognitive Services offering which, along with acquiring a bunch of new customers, would position Microsoft as the undisputed global leader in conversational cloud computing.Īnd that’s likely part of the long term plan. Think of what Microsoft could do with that IP. “… has more intellectual property around speech than anybody on earth” Stu Patterson, ex-CEO, SpeechWorks, told the Boston Globe that Nuance: It’s acquired quite a few companies itself over the last few decades, including Dragon Systems, SpeechWorks, eScription, VoiceSignal Technologies, and Vlingo, and has more than its fare share of patents. You’d also think about the IP that Nuance has. Having a built-in customer base is ideal, isn’t it? 4. Healthcare, finance, retail and a whole bunch of industries have been using Nuance technology for IVR, chatbots, transcriptions, dictations and the like for decades. Next, you’d consider Nuance’s client base. What an addition to the Azure team, right? 3.
Some of the most experienced and talented people in speech technology outside of Microsoft, Google and Amazon work at Nuance. Then, you’d probably consider the staff, knowledge, skills and talent at Nuance. Taking that and using it to bolster the Azure Cognitive Services stack would seem logical. Nuance has bucket loads of enterprise grade technology that has been standing the test of time for generations. TechnologyĪt first, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a pure technology play. There are a number of reasons why you’d think Microsoft would want to acquire Nuance. The fact that Microsoft opted for the largest, most experienced speech technology company outside of the big four is, on the face of it, surprising Click To Tweet Why is Microsoft acquiring Nuance? The theory However, the aims behind the acquisition aren’t what most of us would initially think (or would like to think). Yet, when you dig a little deeper, it makes perfect sense. The fact that Microsoft opted for the largest, most experienced speech technology company outside of the big four is, on the face of it, surprising. Either that or a startup tech firm like Speakeasy AI that would improve the accuracy of Microsoft’s ASR/NLU. However, we expected it to be a much smaller acquisition of a start up tooling provider like Artificial Solutions that would enhance the usability of Microsoft’s Cognitive Services. We’ve spoken numerous times on the VUX World podcast about how we wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft make some acquisitions in the voice and conversational AI space.
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