Microsoft to acquire AI, cloud computing company Nuance for $19.7 billion

Microsoft will acquire artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Nuance for $19.7 billion, bolstering the telemedicine services that became essential during the pandemic, the tech giant announced Monday.

Nuance’s technology is used extensively in medical records and is currently employed in more than three-quarters of US hospitals, Microsoft said in a news release. The transaction is all-cash and the sum includes Nuance’s net debt.

Nuance’s technology is currently used by more than 55 percent of physicians and 75 percent of radiologists in the United States. Microsoft said the deal would double its potential healthcare market to nearly $500 billion.