Microsoft finishes $19.7B acquisition of Nuance

After an almost year-long buyout process, Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Nuance, folding the latter's voice biometrics and conversational AI capabilities into its portfolio. The $19.7 billion acquisition had to pass several regulatory roadblocks since it was revealed in April 2020. The EU held up the acquisition in December 2021, after receiving permission from U.S. and Australian regulatory bodies prior. Though the EU would eventually give the green light for the deal in the same month. It is the second-largest acquisition by Microsoft, only behind the $27 billion buyout of LinkedIn in 2016.