About Us
Pricing
Briefing
Microsoft

Microsoft to Buy Nuance Communications for $16 Billion

By Martin Peers
· · Source: The Information

Microsoft is buying Nuance Communications, which specializes in services using conversational AI, for $16 billion in cash plus assumption of several billion dollars in debt. Nuance, founded in 1992, sells medical transcription and other automated services to the health care industry, as well as financial services and telecom companies, according to its securities filings. The company’s revenue...

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
The Takeaway Asia
What the Heck Is Going On in China?
By Jessica E. Lessin · July 31, 2021 7:45 AM PDT
It’s been a few months of startling headlines out of the China tech sector as the government has initiated an unprecedented crackdown across all corners of China’s tech economy. More on why it is happening later—first let’s consider some of the carnage.
Latest Briefs
 
Amazon Slapped With Record $888 Million Fine by Europe
By Mark Di Stefano · Aug. 2, 2021
China’s Securities Regulator Calls for Close Communication With U.S.
By Juro Osawa · Aug. 2, 2021
Sky News Australia Says Suspended from YouTube for a Week
By Shai Oster · Aug. 2, 2021
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Zhang Lei (left) and Neil Shen. Photos by Bloomberg; AP
Exclusive Venture Capital Asia
Sequoia Capital vs. Hillhouse: Inside China’s Fiercest Investor Rivalry
By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster
Last fall, Sequoia Capital China, the Silicon Valley VC firm’s affiliate led by investor Neil Shen, pledged to invest $400 million in a new funding round for Full Truck Alliance, China’s “Uber for trucks.” Days later, Zhang Lei, the rival head of private-equity giant Hillhouse Capital Group, flew to Nanjing, met Full Truck’s CEO over dinner and arranged a $110 million investment in the same round, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ramp co-founders Karim Atiyeh (left) and Eric Glyman. Photo courtesy of Ramp.
Exclusive Venture Capital Startups
Founders Fund, Iconiq Value Ramp at $3.8 Billion in New Funding Round
By Kate Clark
Corporate credit card startup Ramp is raising its fourth round of venture funding in under eight months, underscoring how back-to-back fundraising rounds—with relatively little business progress in between—is becoming the norm for startups in hot fields such as financial services.
Producers of Group Nine's short film "Two Distant Strangers" at the Oscars. Photo by AP.
Exclusive Entertainment
How Vice, Vox and BuzzFeed Are Cashing In on the Streaming Boom
By Sahil Patel
“Land of the Giants” is a podcast series from Vox Media’s Recode covering the history of tech companies including Amazon and Netflix.
Bumble signage at the Nasdaq when it went public in February. Photo by Bloomberg.
Markets
Where Has the IPO Lockup Gone? Tech Firms Trim Them Back
By Aidan Ryan
Some of last year’s most valuable tech initial public offerings, including Airbnb, Doordash and Snowflake, allowed pre-IPO shareholders to sell their stock before the traditional six-month waiting period expired.
Salesforce president and chief operating officer Bret Taylor at a Salesforce conference in 2019. Photo provided by Salesforce
Enterprise Startups
Bret Taylor Faces His Biggest Test at Salesforce
By Kevin McLaughlin
Five years ago, Salesforce paid $750 million to buy a startup called Quip that made an internet-based word processor and spreadsheet app meant to give Microsoft’s competing Office products a run for their money.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing Google Apple
Big Tech's Boffo Performance
By Martin Peers
Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet each reported impressively robust earnings results for the June quarter, demonstrating that these giant companies continue to go from strength to strength even as they face greater regulatory scrutiny.