Apple owns Siri, but it does not own the company with the technology behind it. The company merely owns the voice assistant’s spun out company from 2010. Nuance Communications actually developed the voice recognition engine for Siri. The voice recognition engine remains in Nuance Communications’ ownership even though it may not be for much longer.
In June, Nuance Communications met with Samsung to discuss an acquisition; however, talks broke down because of financial issues. Nothing was ruled out for the future, though. The two are once again engaged in discussing an acquisition. After the original discussion ended, Nuance Communications is said to have activated $250 million worth of convertible notes. This benefits a potential buyer since it alleviates some debt that would be passed over during an acquisition.
One looming cloud hinting that an acquisition is near is Carl Icahn’s mouth staying shut. The billionaire purchased a 20% share of Nuance Communications and has (shockingly) not said a word about it. The reason for this would be that Icahn wanted to get his share on the cheap to maximize what he brings in from an acquisition.
Samsung already has a voice assistant but it is pretty wonky and does not perform as well as Siri or Google Now. Bringing in Nuance Communications would really advance what Samsung has today. Apple, on the other hand, could go out and seek to acquire another voice assistant engine. Kasisto is apparently capable of work app-by-app. Even if Samsung cannot acquire Nuance Communications, it is probably save to assume they would look at Kasisto.
Would you welcome Siri-like technology being on Samsung devices? Or do you bypass voice commands altogether? Let us know in the comments.
Source: ITworld
Come comment on this article: Technology that backs Apple’s Siri could soon windup in Samsung’s hands
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