The World's Biggest Eavesdropper: After Nuance, Will Microsoft Buy Clubhouse Next?
Ann Berry 4.12.2021
Microsoft’s $19.7 billion acquisition of Nuance, announced today, isn’t the healthcare play the press release would have us believe.
Nuance’s AI?powered speech recognition software turns voice into documentation. Product accuracy has been refined through tailored services for the healthcare, legal and customer service sectors. Microsoft’s announcement emphasizes synergies with its enterprise AI products and doubling its healthcare TAM to $500 billion.
But this is really an audio power move that could shake up social media’s biggest players.
Imagine the power to refine Nuance’s transcript capabilities if Microsoft buys Clubhouse, the invitation-only online radio platform. With hundreds of conversations occurring simultaneously in “rooms” serving 10 million weekly active users, the volume of data available to enhance recognition accuracy is huge.
It’s also a treasure trove of consumer insights – and big advertising data dollars. Without recording conversations or attributing to individual Clubhouse users – a privacy promise that attracts users to the app – heatmapping key words that Clubhouse members are saying most frequently captures valuable psychographic trends.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Twitter had engaged in failed talks to acquire Clubhouse for $4 billion. A drop in the ocean for Microsoft, who bought LinkedIn for $26 billion in 2016 and took a shot at buying TikTok last year for nearly twice that price.
Microsoft is on an audio roll-up roll. Discord, the chat app popular with video gamers, was rumored to be in discussions with the corporate behemoth last month for a $10 billion acquisition. Combining Xbox with Discord’s 140 million monthly active users obviously arms Microsoft with a tool to quench consumers’ thirst for community-based entertainment.
Unleashing Nuance-like technology on Discord’s live audio feature, that lets gamers discuss their play in real time, would get a lot of information on how to sell to highly engaged video game consumers.
Microsoft could just be about to turn into the world’s biggest eavesdropper. The World's Biggest Eavesdropper in the Making: After Nuance, Will Microsoft Buy Clubhouse Next?