Microsoft has their own digital assistant in the form of Cortana, although admittedly it doesn’t seem to enjoy the same level of mainstream popularity compared to Siri or Google Assistant. This isn’t to say that Cortana isn’t good, but it definitely could stand to be improved, which is what Microsoft is reportedly considering.
According to a report from Bloomberg, it seems that Microsoft is in talks to potentially acquire Nuance for a cool $16 billion. For those who are unfamiliar, Nuance is the company behind the voice analysis and voice recognition technology that powers Siri. Talks between the companies are said to be underway and a deal could be announced as soon as next week.
Bloomberg’s sources state that should this deal go through, it could have major implications for Apple’s Siri as Nuance’s technology is behind it. We’re not sure if this means that Microsoft could eventually cut Apple’s access off, or if it could mean that Apple would essentially have to pay Microsoft to keep using the technology.
Neither Nuance nor Microsoft have officially commented on the report yet so it’s probably best to take it with a pinch of salt for now, but if the rumors are true, then we should have all the details next week.
Filed in . Read more about Cortana and Microsoft. Source: bloomberg