Why Microsoft’s $19.7B deal to acquire Nuance is a ‘perfect fit’ and ‘trophy’ for Redmond tech giant
April 12, 2021 at 10:02 am
(Microsoft Image)
Microsoft’s giant purchase: The tech giant announced its second-largest acquisition ever on Monday: a pending $19.7 billion deal to swoop up Boston-area company Nuance Communications, a longtime leader in artificial intelligence-fueled speech technology.
Why Nuance: The deal reflects Microsoft’s continued bet on healthcare. Nuance specializes in “conversational AI” for applications in hospitals and doctor’s offices; 77% of U.S. hospitals are Nuance customers.
“Nuance has huge reach among doctors and other health professionals, who will spend multiple hours on it per day,” said Chrissy Farr, a health tech investor at OMERS Ventures. “It’s also deeply integrated with the largest health IT players, including the electronic medical record companies.”
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We asked healthcare and biotech venture capitalists from leading firms like Venrock and NEA to share their predictions for 2021.
2020 was a pivotal year for healthcare, shaped by the pandemic and a booming IPO market for digital health companies.
In 2021, VCs are anticipating a rough time for young startups, a big year for digital health IPOs, and increased attention for startups looking to address the healthcare industry s shortcomings.
It s difficult to imagine what 2021 has in store, after a pandemic-ravaged 2020.
But when it comes to the healthcare industry, investors are predicting certain events and trends are bound to transpire in the coming year.
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Amazon wants to run primary care for other large employers, Business Insider has learned.
It plans to do that through Amazon Care, which is still in pilot mode and currently serves Amazon s own workers.
Through a mobile app, Care offers in-person and online doctor visits. When Amazon employees are sick, they can start an appointment on the app and be visited at home by a nurse.
It s unclear how widely Amazon has pitched the service, but it approached Zillow, a person familiar with the matter said.
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