- und daher habe ich mir nach dem Einstieg bei Alibaba, die inzwischem mehr als 20% gut gemacht haben, auch einige Rakutens gekauft.
Look Out Amazon, Here Comes...Rakuten? Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Ebates for $1 billion.
The acquisition, which Rakuten hinted at last week, is part of the Japanese company’s push to grow its base beyond its domestic market and hopefully, become a global player. Having made some $1.2 billion acquisitions to date along these lines, this is Rakuten’s most ambitious move to date.
However, investors are dubious that the company can absorb yet another foreign acquisition, much less one the size of Ebates, despite Rakuten’s strong cash position. Then there is the ever-present Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market in the U.S. Few believe it will falter in the face of Chinese giant Alibaba, much less a Rakuten-Ebates combo.
Rakuten Goes Forth
Not surprisingly, Rakuten says it is undaunted. For starters, it has assembled a very interesting mix of acquisitions. There is messaging app Viber, which it purchased for $900 million in February, the Canadian ebook offering Kobo, Spanish video service Wuaki.tv, Viki, a digital content platform and Buy.com. Now it has picked up Ebates.
Veon to invest another US$1 billion in Ukraine’s Kyivstar
JOHN TANNER 11 JUNE 2024
Global digital operator Veon announced on Monday it is will invest an additional US$1 billion between 2023 and 2027 to help its Ukrainian subsidiary Kyivstar rebuild the country’s digital infrastructure as the Russian invasion continues.
The investment is on top of the US$600 million over three years that Veon pledged to invest in Kyivstar in June 2023.
Kyivstar is also investing in Open RAN technology, having signed a leter of intent with Rakuten Symphony earlier this year to deploy its Open RAN technology for both 4G and 5G.
Libuda
: Rakuten is an important owner of Carousell
Good Company Report 2024 x Carousell Group
April 19, 2024
Taking you places, in your career. Start your journey with homegrown firm – Carousell Group. Making secondhand the first choice, this is exactly Carousell Group's mission when they first stared. Now, the company spans seven markets with a diverse group of portfolio brands under their belt. From an intern to a management associate, hear how Jarren's experience has been at the company.
Libuda
: Companies That Accept Crypto as Payment in 2024
June 12, 2024 By Crypto Reporter PR
Rakuten, a Japanese global company, allows you to purchase Rakuten Cash (the company’s e-money) with Bitcoin and other crypto assets. This way, the company lets users shop at Rakuten Pay and through Rakuten Point Card affiliates across Japan. McDonald’s is just one of Rakuten’s Point Card affiliates.
Libuda
: Rakuten nabs a position at DSIT's 5G test centre
Rakuten nabs a position at DSIT’s 5G diversity test centre
Neal Doran 4 March 2024
The UK government is upping its efforts to create a diverse 5G supplier ecosystem with Rakuten Symphony solutions procured for its £80m testing facility, and network security a key driver…
The United Kingdom’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has procured Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN technology for use in the West Midland's flagship UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL), operated by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The use of Rakuten Symphony’s technology within UKTL will support the Government's effort to diversify the UK 5G telecoms market and drive the security and resilience of the telecoms sector.
Sunil Gopinath, CEO of Rakuten India and Executive Officer of Rakuten Group took the opportunity to unveil Gen EYE on Rakuten SixthSense, a groundbreaking solution designed to safeguard AI tools, systems and algorithms.
“Rakuten’s mission globally is to empower society through technology,” Gopinath remarked. “With products like Rakuten SixthSense, we ensure the security and efficiency of our own operations while offering these innovations to the broader market, enabling businesses worldwide to thrive in a secure and reliable environment.”
Rakuten presents first-ever TV anime series starring beloved mascot
2 hours ago
Calling all anime fans and shopping enthusiasts. Ever wondered what kind of mischief Rakuten’s friendly mascot character, Okaimono Panda (Rakuten Panda) gets into in their daily life?
It’s time to find out – Rakuten is bringing its mascot to life in a brand new anime series, slated to hit Japanese TVs this fall. “Okaimono Panda!” will be the first-ever TV anime series featuring the beloved panda who has stolen the hearts of Rakuten fans worldwide.
A sneak peek into the life of a shopaholic panda
For those curious to get a sneak peek of what’s in store, you’re in luck! The teaser video for “Okaimono Panda!” offers a tantalizing glimpse into the world of Okaimono Panda and their best friend, Kopanda.
Star-studded team behind the scenes
To bring the original storyline for “Okaimono Panda!” to life, Rakuten has assembled a dream team of anime veterans. The series will be directed by Shinji Takamatsu, known for his work on “Gintama,” “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto” and “KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops.”
Series composition will be lead by Higashi Shimizu, whose credits include iconic anime titles including “Crayon Shin-chan” and “Doraemon.” Character design falls under the eye of Yasue Sosogi, and animation production is in the hands of Shin-Ei Animation, the studio behind “Doraemon,” “Crayon Shin-chan” and “Teasing Master Takagi-san.”
Rakuten Content Central, a department specializing in intellectual property and media franchising will produce the content for the series.
More exciting updates about “Okaimono Panda!” will be announced in the coming months, including the official release date and channels.
Okaimono Panda gets voiced by a legend
Ikue Otani will play the beloved mascot in the new anime series.
Longtime fans of Okaimono Panda will be thrilled to hear that Ikue Otani, who voiced the character in Rakuten’s commercials will play the beloved mascot. Otani is a well-known figure in the voice acting world, for her roles as Pikachu in “Pokémon” and Tony Tony Chopper in “ONE PIECE.”
On the “Okaimono Panda!’ series, Otani commented, “I’ve been voicing Okaimono Panda for Rakuten’s commercials for many years. And when I heard it’s becoming an anime, I almost couldn’t believe it! I’m sure Okaimono Panda will have a lot to say as always. Up until now, most of the time I’ve expressed the character through singing, so I’m really looking forward to voicing them in even more dialogue scenes and exploring new dimensions of the character. I’m excited to see Okaimono Panda’s everyday adventures come to life in the series, and I hope you are as excited as I am to see the story unfold.”
A mascot with a global fanbase
Since debuting as an original LINE sticker for Rakuten Ichiba in May 2013, Okaimono Panda has captured the hearts of fans worldwide. With over 56 million friends on Rakuten Ichiba’s official LINE account, the mascot’s adorable look and expressive personality have resonated with people of all ages. The launch of the “Okaimono Panda!” anime series, promises to expand this fanbase even further, introducing Okaimono Panda’s generous heart and love of shopping to even more people. Going forward, Rakuten will continue developing a variety of entertainment experiences featuring Okaimono Panda and rolling out original content IP for customers in Japan and overseas through Rakuten Content Central.
Report Attribute and Details: Estimated market size by 2030: USD 4642.6 million Market size in 2023: USD 2982.6 million Growth Rate: From 2023 to 2030, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is 6.5% Covered segments: Analysis of Type, Size, and End Use Estimate base year: 2023 Historical data: spans 2017–2023 Forecast period: 2023–2030
Before looking at the present and future, he looked at the past. “When we designed the OSS system, it was for management of the network functions and figuring out if the network is performing good, bad, and connecting the dots. It has evolved into a service assurance [tool] where you could actually see services and know what the behavior of the services are. Now, when we see how we are evolving in terms of ecosystem technology, things have been super fast.”
This “super fast” evolution includes an embrace of IT and cloud-native computing best set practices, things like GitOps, AIOps, and other areas that are all new to the world of telecoms. And all in pursuit of the expectation that networks will become “agile, infinite and always available for any kind of use case to be supported.” In the march to network slicing, scaling in and scaling out, disaggregating hardware and software, pushing the user plane function to the edge and more, “I think OSS is a perfect place to have those synergies and figure out how we can convert multiple brains into applets. One of the functions could be automation, could be orchestration, could be workflow engines, and also about the digital maps which you need across the lifecycle management. I see OSS as a huge potential. I’m still trying to figure out what should be the right name for it. But, for me, this is the home of innovation, and if we want to do cultural revolution…think about future use cases, OSS has to be the platform.”
Total assets of Rakuten Bank, Ltd. from 2015 to 2024 (in trillion Japanese yen)
Published by Statista Research Department, May 15, 2024 As of March 2024, the total assets of Rakuten Bank, Ltd. amounted to around 13.5 trillion Japanese yen (about 95 billion USD). The bank's total assets increased from 11.6 trillion yen in the previous year and 1.34 trillion yen in 2015. Rakuten Bank, Ltd. is a Japanese online bank that is part of the Rakuten Group.
Libuda
: Fußball im BVB-Stadion mit Open-RAN-Technologie
1&1 revolutioniert das Fußballerlebnis im BVB-Stadion mit Open-RAN-Technologie und modernsten MIMO-Antennen
Dortmund, 15. Mai 2024. 1&1 hat zum Saisonfinale den Ausbau des größten deutschen Fußballstadions mit modernster 5G-Technik erfolgreich abgeschlossen. 1&1 betreibt das erste Mobilfunknetz auf Basis der innovativen Open-RAN-Technologie in Europa. Auf dieser technologischen Grundlage wurde das Mobilfunknetz im BVB-Stadion ausgebaut und liefert nun pünktlich zur Europameisterschaft für Besucher des Stadions hohe Down- und Upload-Geschwindigkeiten auf jedem Sitzplatz. Nach erfolgreichem Test bei den Heimspielen Anfang Mai ist die Technologie nun voll funktionsfähig, sodass Kundinnen und Kunden das 1&1 O-RAN hautnah während der EM im Juni und Juli erleben können.
At the same time, as we gain more subscribers, in addition to the focus on network quality and stability, we will also focus more on further enhancing customer experience and our service offerings. Of course, we need to offer the best coverage along with the best performance, but once we've done that, we aspire to provide more than just connectivity, and offer our subscribers a much richer experience through new innovative services and features. Our cloud native network architecture gives us the required flexibility and platform to do so.
Libuda
: Stage X will become a Rakuten Symphony customer
Stage X can certainly learn a lot from Rakuten Mobile's experience as a market newcomer, including the fact that it is in for a tough ride.
The deal is not just about sharing experience though, although the firms are highlighting that element in particular.
It will also see Stage X become a Rakuten Symphony customer, which suggests it is looking to roll out cloud-native Open RAN infrastructure. At this stage, the company simply refers to buying "industry leading telecom solutions" from Rakuten's mobile technology arm though.
Rakuten Viber and KIKO Milano bridge the gap between online and offline beauty experiences with innovative virtual try-on
Mariia Martyrosian
Global PR & Marketing Innovations Director at Rakuten Viber
June 6, 2024
Rakuten Viber, the global leader in private and secure messaging and voice-based communication, has teamed up with KIKO Milano, No. 1 makeup brand in Italy, distributed exclusively by Fais Group, to transform the beauty shopping experience in Greece. Now, Greek users can try on the iconic KIKO Milano 3D Hydra Lipgloss virtually within the Rakuten Viber app and then quickly buy it with just a few clicks.
KIKO Milano creatively uses branded Viber Lenses for a virtual try-on, blending the physical and digital ("phy-gital") experiences to create a smarter, more engaging way for consumers to interact with beauty products. This innovation leverages the trend of online shopping, as 67% of internet users in Greece shopped online last year, according to Eurostat.
Rakuten Mobile hat bereits 6,5 Millionen Abonnenten für seinen Mobilfunkdienst ab dem 8. April 2024 erreicht1. Das Unternehmen hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, bis Ende 2024 8 bis 10 Millionen Abonnenten zu erreichen2. Angesichts des stetigen Wachstums und der Einführung attraktiver Programme wie dem “Saikyo Family Program” und dem “Saikyo Youth Program” scheint Rakuten Mobile auf einem guten Weg zu sein, dieses Ziel zu erreichen.
Libuda
: More than just a telecom operator - a platform f
More than just a telecom operator - platform for a wider ecosystem
Data governance is the foundation of AI use", Rakuten Mobile CDO tells London conference
By James Dartnell May 16, 2024
Rakuten Mobile’s Chief Data Officer Madhukiran Medithe discussed the importance of sound data governance as the most critical starting point for AI use during an on-stage interview at FutureNet World 2024. Medithe delved into the ways that data is a cornerstone in the telco-techco transition. Sound data governance and compliance is essential if telcos are to take advantage of any AI-related opportunities, Rakuten Mobile’s Chief Data Officer has told a leading London telco conference.
Speaking in an on-stage interview at FutureNet World 2024 in London, Medithe told an expert audience how Rakuten Mobile has prioritised “cleaning” its data to ensure that the operator is able to accurately and responsibly deploy AI models. Moderator Chris Lewis of Lewis Insight quizzed Medithe on the ways that sound data use can form a cornerstone of a successful telco-techco transition.
“Rakuten started capturing data from day zero, and we’re reaping the benefits of that today,” Medithe said. “We have a huge amount of data from across our ecosystem. We know our subscribers, their usage patterns, the types of applications they are using, what services they're looking for, and how they are acting. We always see from the device perspective how the user is experiencing our network.”
Medithe went on to emphasise the criticality of responsible data usage. This, he said, was an absolute must before telcos can attempt any sort of AI initiatives. “We need to be very careful with how we use data,” he said. “Governance and compliance are fundamental in its successful use. Data cleaning and integration are a must because any changes you try to do in real-time or non real-time will also directly impact the customer experience. Today, whatever your modelling may be, compliance must be involved. Even though you take an open API or a third party application, when you go down to such a minute level of data - the subscriber location, address details and type of device - you should be very, very cautious about driving your governance and compliance. This is massive.”
Medithe also emphasised the importance of the data cleaning process. “Unifying data sources from different parts of the network is essential,” he said. “Data cleaning is the most difficult part, but it’s an absolute must. Data science is very niche in telecom because you're trying to capture the data at a millisecond rate. I would say 60-70% of my engineers’ time is spent on data cleaning. When you’re trying to stitch data from the RAN to the core, you need to do more from a governance perspective. With things like subscriber profiling, you need to be very careful and clear on how you’re trying to use the data.”
Medithe rounded off his interview by stressing the need for telcos to become platform companies, as opposed to seeing themselves as a traditional providers of services or utilities.
“Mobile network operators should not view themselves exclusively as service providers - they need to be platform providers. That starts with your data,” Medithe said. “What Rakuten Mobile has done is a massive achievement. Automation and AI are part of Rakuten Group’s DNA, and that has allowed Rakuten Mobile to be more than just a telecom operator - it's a platform for our wider ecosystem. From top to bottom, we try to deploy learnings from our data.”
Rakuten FinTech Segment Q1 2024: A Deep Dive into Growth and Expansion
May 20, 2024
Revenue growth: +15.1% YoY, driven by increased customer base and transaction volume (GTV) across all businesses.
Operating Income (OI) growth: +47.4% YoY, with all businesses, including Rakuten Securities, achieving year-on-year growth.
Rakuten Card: Significant OI increase due to strong GTV growth and improved profitability.
Rakuten Securities: Successful customer base expansion, with general accounts and trading volume continuing to grow, leading to increased OI.
Rakuten Bank: Significant increase in accounts, deposit balances, and AUM, driving revenue growth.
Rakuten Payment: Achieved profitability for the first time, thanks to successful expansion of offline merchants and users.
2024 Strategy: Focus on enhancing the convenience of payment services, promoting high-LTV services, and leveraging data insights for personalized customer experience.
FinTech Reorganization: Integration of the FinTech business into one group to take effect in October 2024, aiming to foster deeper data collaboration and innovative service offerings.
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