Microsoft to buy speech tech company Nuance for nearly $20 billion April 12, 2021 / 10:33 AM / CBS/AP Microsoft, on an accelerated growth push, is buying speech recognition company Nuance in an all-cash transaction valued at $19.7 billion, including the AI software company's debt. This acquisition is the Redmond, Washington-based software giant's second largest under CEO Satya Nadella, after its $26 billion acquisition of professional networking site Linkedin, in 2016. Microsoft will pay $56 per share, a 23% premium over the closing price of Nuance on April 9. "For Nadella & Co, this is the right acquisition at the right time with Microsoft doubling down on its healthcare initiatives over the coming years," said Wedbush Securities analysts Dan Ives and Strecker Backe in a research note.