The negotiations are expected to be formal soon, and if confirmed, this could be Microsoft’s second largest purchase after LinkedIn. Nuance helped develop Apple’s Siri assistant.

Microsoft has already concluded acquisition negotiations for Nuance Communications, a technology that specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of speech recognition, and the purchase may be finalized as early as this week. As for value, the North American press advanced to $ 19.7 billion (about 16.5 billion euros). The agreement also includes Nuance’s net debt.

To be sure, this is Microsoft’s second largest acquisition since it bought the LinkedIn social network in 2016 for $ 26 billion (roughly € 22 billion).

The local press also reported that Microsoft will pay for each Nuance share of $ 56 (about € 47), which is a 23% increase compared to the value of Nuance’s stock in the last exchange session.

Nuance is best known for its Dragon software, which uses artificial intelligence to duplicate speech and improve its accuracy over time, adapting to the user’s voice. After licensing the technology, which enabled the launch of Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, Nuance is up 3.4% this year.

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