Speech and interface tech company Nuance Communications said Thursday it is acquiring southern California firm TouchCommerce for $215 million in cash and stock. The deal is expected to close by the end of September.
Burlington, MA-based Nuance (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) plans to integrate TouchCommerce’s customer service products into its suite of systems for helping big companies engage with customers over Web, mobile, and social messaging channels. TouchCommerce was founded in 1999 and is based in Agoura Hills, CA.
In the past five years, Nuance has acquired more than a dozen companies, including SVOX, Swype, Vlingo, Tweddle Connect, and Varolii.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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