Nuance Speech Software Drives TU-KA Cellular's New Voice Portal.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif. and TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2002

Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the speech experts, today announced that its speech recognition software is enabling a new voice portal service from TU-KA Group, a division of KDDI Corporation,

Developed for TU-KA Group by Nuance partners, Trans Cosmos, Inc. and ITmanage Inc., the Koe-Navi system applies the Nuance 8.0 speech recognition engine to drive the voice portal service. TU-KA customers dial into the portal via a special access number -- STAR (*) 300 -- and use simple voice commands to navigate the system and listen to information.

Masao Tankai, Manager of Contents Planning Group, TU-KA Cellular Tokyo Inc. said they chose the Nuance solution for its high recognition accuracy and proven reliability in the Japanese market.

"We are seeing increased demand for innovative new mobile services in Japan, but many users find the small size of their mobile phone handset makes it difficult to use the keys to navigate these services. Through our application of the Nuance speech technology, we can offer these customers a simple interface that is koe (voice)," said Tankai.

With unparalled Japanese language expertise and an extensive Asian-Pacific partner community, Nuance has been chosen as the foundation for sophisticated voice-driven customer applications by Global 1000 companies including AT&T, Australian Taxation Office, British Airways, Japan Telecom, Nomura Securities and Telstra.

With accuracy rates higher than 96 per cent, Nuance 8.0 is easy for customers to use, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and retention as well as a fast return on investment. Japanese is just one of the 27 languages currently supported by Nuance.

President and Representative Director of Nuance Communications K.K., Hideki Wachi, said the TU-KA portal project reaffirmed Nuance's position as the leading supplier of speech recognition technology in Japan.

"We're pleased to add TU-KA to our roster of more than 60 satisfied customers in Japan. This implementation represents an excellent opportunity for us to showcase the advanced capabilities of our new speech recognition software and we hope that it will encourage greater adoption of speech in the market," continued Wachi.

About Nuance

Nuance is the speech expert. Nuance's speech software solutions enable automated access to everything from account balances to flight information, email reading to voice activated dialing -- using nothing more than the power of voice and an ordinary phone. In markets around the world, leading enterprises and telecommunications carriers -- including British Airways, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone, and many more -- work with Nuance to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and retention, create new sources of revenue and improve security. Nuance is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. and has offices around the world. For more information, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, for example, those relating to the capabilities and benefits of Nuance software and services, the anticipated success of deployments using Nuance software and services and the market adoption of Nuance software and deployments based on Nuance technology. There is no assurance that the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements will be realized. The following factors, risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or implied in this press release's forward-looking statements: the risk that Nuance software or services will not achieve intended benefits; the risk that Nuance software and/or deployments using Nuance software will not achieve customer adoption or broad commercial success; the risk that market adoption of Nuance technology will not increase, and other factors described in Nuance's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Nuance's last-filed quarterly report on form 10-Q. Nuance does not undertake to update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of Nuance.

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