Word on the street is that Nuance Communications, the company that provides voice and language technology to Apple’s Siri, is considering shopping itself to potential suitors. A report claims that Samsung might be one of the interested parties, though Nuance is believed to have held talks with private equity firms as well. Some of the talks are believed to have taken place earlier this year and it is not known currently if they’ll lead to a potential deal.
Nuance’s technologies are found in mobile devices, GPS devices and even TVs. Its technology can also be found on Samsung’s smartphones, tablets and TVs whereas the company itself confirmed that the technology will soon make its way to Samsung’s wearable devices as well. It counts Nintendo, Panasonic, Daimler AG and others among its customers.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter the Wall Street Journal reports that Nuance has reportedly spoken to Samsung about a possible sale of the company. Its unclear if Samsung has any interest in picking it up and what would be paid for the company that has a market capitalization north of $5.5 billion.
There’s speculation already that if Nuance is sold to Samsung, Apple might strip out its technology from Siri due to its turbulent history with the Korean juggernaut. But before anything that extreme can happen there must first be a confirmation of talks, there is none so far. We’ll keep our ear to the ground nonetheless.