EXHIBIT 99



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact:    Thomas B. Doherty
            Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc.
            617-893-5151

               KURZWEIL APPLIED INTELLIGENCE, INC. ANNOUNCES
                       CLOSING OF PRIVATE PLACEMENT

WALTHAM, Mass, August 1, 1996 -- Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. (NASDAQ:
KURZ) today announced the closing of the sale of 927,500 million shares of its
common stock in a private placement at a sale price of $2.00 per share to
individual and institutional investors. Net proceeds to the Company are
approximately $1.67 million and will be used for working capital and general
corporate purposes.

In May 1996, the Company raised approximately $2.37 million, also through a
private placement.

Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc., headquartered in Waltham, Mass., was
founded in 1982. The Company develops, markets, and supports automated speech
recognition systems used to create documents and interact with computers by
voice. The Company's medical reporting systems, VoiceMED and Kurzweil Clinical
Reporter, are used in over 500 healthcare institutions nationwide; and, Kurzweil
VOICE is an easy-to-use voice recognition system for Windows-based PCs.

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This release and other information related to Kurzweil Applied Intelligence,
Inc. can be referenced on the Company's home page on the World Wide Webb at
http://www.kurz-ai.com, or by calling 1-800-380-1234.


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