Samsung In Talks to Acquire Nuance, The Company That Powers Siri

Samsung is reportedly in talks with to acquire Nuance Communications, the company that is responsible for powering Siri.

The Burlington, Mass., company has recently spoken about a possible sale of the company with Samsung Electronics Co. and private-equity firms, some of the people said. It isn't clear where sale talks, some of which happened earlier this year, currently stand or if they will lead to a deal.

Nuance develops a voice-powered technology that finds its way into mobile phones, televisions, GPS devices and more. Its technology is already used in Samsung handsets, televisions and tablets. It is also responsible for powering Apple's virtual assistant, Siri.


If Nuance were to be acquired by Samsung, it is unclear what impact it would have on Apple's Siri. Samsung could force Apple to find another provider to power the virtual assistant's voice recognition aspect of the service. It has been rumored that Apple was working on reducing its reliance on Nuance after it assembled a small team of speech experts in Boston.

iOS 8 brings some welcomed Siri enhancements, including a Shazam Song ID Feature, instant feedback, and 'Hey Siri.'

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