Samsung may be looking to acquire Nuance Communications, which makes speech and voice recognition technology that is used across the board, with even Apple using it for its personal assistant app, Siri. Furthermore, Nuance’s technology is also used in many other devices that benefit from voice input, dedicated GPS units (PNDs) being one of them. In addition, the company owns the popular virtual keyboard Swype which Samsung uses/preloads on many of its mobile devices.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Nuance is a force in the healthcare sector, the area that is increasingly getting attention from Koreans.
At the moment, it’s still unclear whether this deal will actually happen, but that hasn’t stopped investors from pumping up Nuance’s stock price. The company, in case you wonder, is currently valued at around $5.5 billion. For those who need this sort of information, the (in)famous Carl Icahn is Nuance’s largest shareholder.
It remains to be seen how the industry would react if Samsung ends-up owning Nuance. Most Android users wouldn’t notice a thing with Google Now relying on different (Google’s own) technology to detect the words you’re speaking.
[Via: WSJ]