Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

- 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.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/09/...ere-comes-rakuten/  

In the next quarters and years will be the depreciations of Rakuten (especially of Rakuten Mobile) a lot higher than the outflow for investments. This will be dramatically increase the cash, because the depreciation was outflow of former periods.

Rakuten can use the cash to pay back debts and later may be to buy back shares.
 

Rakuten Mobile’s Break-Even Goal: Rakuten Mobile aims for monthly EBITDA break-even by the end of 2024.

Additionally, they maintain a target to achieve this on an annual basis by 2025  

16 hours ago

At the recent Rakuten Optimism conference, one powerful message echoed through the halls: AI is for everyone.

The event kicked off with a keynote speech from Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani, in which he outlined Rakuten’s plans to democratize AI, the fundamental role Rakuten Mobile must play, and the power of the internet to connect the world’s intelligence.

The power of connected intelligence

“We’re seeing a major difference between pre and post-internet technology,” Mikitani told the audience. “Where previously we had standalone computers, we’re now in a place where the network itself is gaining intelligence. What does it mean for all information to be connected?”

Mikitani compared the scale of this connected intelligence to the human brain. “The human brain is made up of around 170 billion cells. Half of those are neurons.”
The number of internet-connected devices, meanwhile – cell phones, servers, PCs – has been estimated at around 75 billion.

“If you consider that a single CPU processes faster than a single neuron, you can imagine the truly dramatic speed at which all of the world’s information is being processed,” he noted. “In a sense, we’re seeing a kind of intelligence we’ve never seen before.”

Step one: Building a foundation

“What the Rakuten Group wants to do is democratize AI,” Mikitani said. “It shouldn’t be just for a few people to use, but for everyone. So, specifically, how are we going to do this?”

Mikitani outlined three concrete steps for Rakuten’s AI business, starting with a two-pronged approach to expand Rakuten’s own AI foundation.

“One is to adopt external tools: generative AI, large language models from OpenAI, with whom we have a strong partnership, and other industry leaders. Why did they want to form such a partnership with us? It’s our rich data. And the potential for growth of Rakuten’s business model.”

The second approach involves in-house development of AI tools, such as the recently released Rakuten AI 7B. This set of large language models works at a smaller scale to the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, while demonstrating outstanding performance in the Japanese language.

Step two: AI-nization within Rakuten

“AI really belongs to everyone. And in the future, it will use a lot of data. So we want everyone to be able to use these transmission lines affordably and freely, without restrictions.”– Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey

The second step is to embrace the use of AI technologies within the Rakuten Group – an undertaking Mikitani has dubbed AI-nization.

“It’s more than just a vague suggestion to use AI tools,” Mikitani explained. “We’re setting concrete targets to utilize AI through a project we call Triple 20. We’re boosting marketing efficiency by 20%, operational efficiency by 20%, and the efficiency of our clients – such as the merchants and hotels on our platforms – by 20%. It’s an extremely bold target.”

Rakuten’s in-house AI tools are already being actively utilized by employees. “Our marketing strategies are changing, customer support is changing, operations are changing. AI is taking on a significant part of the workload for our programmers.”
Mikitani expressed hope that this pioneering approach will become a model case for clients and other firms, helping invigorate the broader economy.

Step three: AI for everyone

Last but not least, Rakuten wants to provide practical AI tools for everyone to use. Rakuten AI for Business has already been connecting companies of all sizes with AI tools since its launch in 2023.

“I think that this will fundamentally change store operations, service operations and the very way business is done,” Mikitani ventured. “AI can provide translation capabilities, customer support, logistics, inventory management, price setting and create concrete touchpoints with customers.”

Mikitani took the opportunity to announce the imminent launch of a new AI tool to connect customers with all of Rakuten’s services at once.

“The Rakuten Group will soon be releasing our own universal concierge,” Mikitani revealed. “This will incorporate all of Rakuten’s services. It’s not just for searching for specific items, but making recommendations through dialogue with the user.”
An onstage demonstration of the concierge service started with a simple image of a dessert and a voice request to find ingredients to make it. This evolved into a multi-stage dialogue, guiding the user to the exact products they needed within their budget.
Mikitani invited the audience to imagine the possibilities of such a tool when paired with Rakuten’s broad catalog of services.

“A concierge for shopping, for travel, one that guides you on something completely different, like investing,” he proposed. “I think that the Rakuten Group’s AI capabilities are already world-class.”

Rakuten Mobile powering revolutions

“AI is going to change everything,” Mikitani declared. “And the foundation of this is the internet, and mobile networks. This is what is connecting all of the information.”
Rakuten Mobile is about more than just building a high quality, affordable network, Mikitani stressed.

“With Rakuten Mobile, we’re not just trying to make it easier to make calls or watch YouTube,” he told the audience. “We’re trying to drastically optimize the speed of AI, which will change society. Rakuten Mobile is at the epicenter of this.”
Where existing mobile networks rely on manually operated hardware, the software-centric nature of Rakuten Mobile opens up boundless potential to take advantage of AI tools.

“In place of humans, AI can design and manage the network. Design, construction, deployment, security, monitoring, problem solving – we are operating this with the support of AI.”

Mobile is another field in which Mikitani is pursuing a mission of democratization. Rakuten has been a major proponent of Open RAN (radio access network) – an alternative to the traditional approach of inflexible proprietary systems. The recent launch of Rakuten Symphony’s Real Open RAN Licensing Program is making this cutting-edge approach available to the entire industry.

“We are carrying out the democratization of mobile networks,” Mikitani said. “We’re using off-the-shelf technology and software to build networks without compromising on quality – in fact, the quality is dramatically better. That’s what Rakuten Mobile has proven.”

Looking ahead of the curve

Mobile networks play a crucial role in AI technology. Mikitani stressed that keeping them affordable and accessible will be paramount.

“AI really belongs to everyone. And in the future, it will use a lot of data. That’s why we want everyone to be able to enjoy connectivity affordably and freely, without restrictions.”

Rakuten’s daring moves in transformative directions haven’t always been obvious to everyone, Mikitani admitted.

“People kept asking us: Why are you doing this? Why travel? Why finance? Why Englishnization? Why mobile?” he told the conference. “The answer is that we want to support all of you by looking just a little bit ahead of the curve, by taking on bold challenges and forging new paths. I believe that is our role.”

https://rakuten.today/blog/rakutens-plans-to-democratize-ai.html



 

Where existing mobile networks rely on manually operated hardware, the software-centric nature of Rakuten Mobile opens up boundless potential to take advantage of AI tools.

“In place of humans, AI can design and manage the network. Design, construction, deployment, security, monitoring, problem solving – we are operating this with the support of AI.”
 

From vision, to strategy, to execution: Ting Cai on building useful products with AI

2 days ago

The world of AI moves fast. In the blink of an eye, the latest GenAI models have become multilingual, understanding different dialogues and even emotional tones; and multimodal, accepting and outputting audio, video and more.

In such a rapidly changing landscape, how does one effectively build AI products? Rakuten Group’s Chief AI & Data Officer Ting Cai joined the 2024 edition of Rakuten Product Conference, Presented by Rakuten India, to share his perspective.

“Product managers are the catalysts that turn vision into strategy, strategy into execution, and execution into value,” Cai told the conference. “How can a product manager stay concrete, live and breathe like a user, but at the same time understand the technology so they can integrate what is technically possible, what the user wants, and come up with a vision and define the product?”

Start with a vision

“Rakuten has a lot of businesses across multiple industries,” Cai began. “This gives us fantastic unique data assets we can leverage to train efficient embeddings and efficient large language models (LLMs). Our data is like a rich farmland; with it we can carefully cultivate and grow our AI products. We have online and offline channels that reach millions of customers and businesses so they can take advantage of large language models.”

“Product managers need to think big to solve hard problems. They’re striving to accomplish mission impossible.”
Ting Cai, Rakuten Group Chief AI & Data Officer

Through its AI-nization initiative, Rakuten is looking to take full advantage of AI technology across the company, leveraging its advanced capabilities to deliver more value to Rakutenians, partners and customers.

“Our vision is to enable AI-nization across Rakuten by leveraging our data assets, our channels and ultimately building the flywheel so we can leverage every interaction with our customers and businesses to enhance our products so we can deliver more benefits to our customers.”

For product managers, it’s a tricky balance between dreaming big and staying grounded.

“Product managers need to think big to solve hard problems. They’re striving to accomplish mission impossible. If you solve an easy problem, you’re already subject to disappointing others because many other people are solving the same problem, and it’s hard to differentiate,” Cai told the conference. “We need to think big, but at the same time stay concrete. Be practical, think what AI can do to improve our everyday products.”

Turning vision into strategy

Cai presented five key approaches for product managers looking to leverage AI.

1. What should AI do?

“In order to come up with a good vision, it’s very important to start with an understanding of our customers. There’s a lot of conversation about the latest LLMs, what AI can do. But most importantly, in my opinion, is what AI should do. What are the right problems to solve?”

Understanding the user’s needs is the first step to building a good product. This is something Cai has pursued at Rakuten through a technology called semantic search on several of Rakuten’s services. This tech seeks to produce search results close to what the user means instead of the literal search terms used.

“In the world of search, a query represents user intent. So, query analysis is super important to delivering a top-notch search experience,” Cai explained. “We’ve been working on semantic search for Rakuten Fashion and Rakuten Ichiba, and we are expanding it to multiple products across the Rakuten Group. All of that is building a strong foundation for understanding the user’s intent through search query analysis.”

2. Actions speak louder than words

“It’s not enough just to do a survey and ask what users want. It’s more important to observe what they do,” Cai stressed.

“Of all of the data collection tools I’ve worked on, including search engines, the user survey is probably the least important. It’s more important to look at the actual user behavior. What are the things they query, what are the things they click, and what pages do they spend more time on? Observing what users do can help product managers identify the latent intent.”

“To be a good product manager, it’s very important to demonstrate leadership – to have a vision, bring clarity and focus on the big bets for the entire team.”

3. Integrate AI into existing habits

Cai spoke of some recent work undertaken with healthcare professionals to explore how AI could help in the medical field. He cited the example of pathologists trained their entire lives on microscopes, only to be told to use cloud technology and AI to analyze their samples.

“It’s like changing their life for them. They spend years going through this medical training, and their life is attached to this microscope,” he remarked. “In order to lower the barrier of adopting AI technology, we have to integrate it into existing habits.”

4. Does it have to be AI?

“Does this problem need an AI? Or is there a simpler solution?”

Cai cited the example of someone in a recent Zoom meeting who had a timer as their background – an elegant solution to managing precious meeting minutes.

“Can AI solve a problem differently? I have been in those meetings sometimes when people are passionately discussing a topic, when suddenly the human timer said, Time is up; you should stop! But maybe AI can actually detect the emotion, detect the discussion and let people continue their flow.”

5. Instill trust

Last but not least, build a brand that customers trust. “All of these visions are synthesized into product branding. Branding instills trust and emotion. It can deliver premium value for your product.”
Turning strategy into execution

“To be a good product manager, it’s very important to demonstrate leadership – to have a vision, bring clarity and focus on the big bets for the entire team. But it’s not enough to have only the vision and strategy. Most importantly, it’s about the execution.”

Iteration and finetuning are essential components of a product’s execution, especially in the fast-paced world of AI.

“As you can see, these AI developments are happening very quickly. So, I believe it’s important to develop the inner loop so you can experiment faster,” Cai emphasized. “Even when a product is developed, you can continue to tune it through in-context learning, through prompt engineering, through retrieval augmented generation. There’s so many things you can continue to iterate through the development process.”

During this iterative process, product managers must continue learning and trying new tools to get a feel for what can be applied to their products. “That in-depth technical knowledge, plus an understanding of user needs, in a continuously iterative fashion is the way to go for product development.”

https://rakuten.today/blog/...n-building-useful-products-with-ai.html
 

The group achieved Non-GAAP EBITDA profitability for the fiscal year 2023 for the first time in three years, with Non-GAAP EBITDA of 148.2 billion yen, an improvement of 218.1 billion  

and Colombia an important market for Cabify

Colombia Ecommerce Market Databook 2024, Featuring Falabella, Grupo Exito, Home Center, MercadoLibre, DiDi Food, iFood, Rappi, TaDa Delivery, Almundo, Aviatur, Beat - Ride, Cabify & Despeg...
The E-commerce market in Colombia is expected to grow by 8.44% on annual basis to reach US$14.4 billion in 2024, growing steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 6.47% during 2024-2028. The E-commerce Gross Merchandise Value in Colombia will increase from US$13.3 billion in 2023 to reach US$18.6 billion by 2028.

Companies Featured
         •Amazon
         • Falabella          §
         •§Grupo Exito
         •§Home Center
         •MercadoLibre          §
         •§DiDi Food
         •iFood
         • Rappi          §
         •§TaDa Delivery
         •Almundo
         • Aviatur          §
         •§Beat - Ride
         •    Cabify
         • Despegar
§
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...market-databook-2024-152100244.html
 

Open RAN Market Outlook 2024: Big Things are Happening

07-30-2024 01:16 PM CET

Archive Market Research published a new research publication on "Open RAN Market Insights, to 2032".
The Open RAN Market size was valued at USD 2,771.2 billion in 2023 and exhibiting a CAGR of 33.0 % during the forecasts period.

https://www.openpr.com/news/3603862/...-2024-big-things-are-happening
 

 

Rakuten Symphony had revenues of about $383 million in the FY 2023 - a market-share of 13.8% in 2023.

If Rakuten Symphony defend the market-share, ORAN will be $ 3.749 billion-business for Rakuten Symphony:
1.33 exponent 8 = 9.79-fold
383 billion * 9.79 = $3.749 billion
 

https://www.autobacs.co.jp/ja/news/news-202408201400.html
 

Rakuten promotion: 10% cash back with 30+ brands (August 2024)

https://flytrippers.com/...ew%2520account%2520via%2520our%2520link%29
 

Viber Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study

By Nina Sheridan

As we reflect on the evolution of the Viber Marketing Strategy, it becomes evident that the platform’s focus on user engagement has reshaped its approach to communication. By implementing data-driven decisions and personalized messaging, Viber has effectively enhanced the user experience, responding to the growing demand for seamless interaction in the digital realm. The future insights suggest that Viber is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing preference for mobile e-commerce, projected to represent 42.9% of all e-commerce sales by 2024.

Moreover, Viber’s success in utilizing tools like chatbots has illustrated the power of instant communication, as evidenced by Apple’s impressive subscriber growth and conversion rates. With 69% of consumers expressing a preference for texts regarding payments and a significant portion interested in sales inquiries, it is clear that Viber’s strategies align with current consumer behaviors. The platform’s innovative offerings, such as free messaging options and tailored business messages, further underscore its commitment to maintaining a competitive edge.

Looking ahead, Viber will likely continue to adapt and innovate within the fast-paced messaging app market. The emphasis on cross-channel engagement strategies and strict compliance with user consent ensures that Viber not only is a trustworthy platform but also fosters deeper connections between businesses and their audiences. As it navigates the ever-evolving landscape of user engagement, Viber remains focused on delivering value, solidifying its position as a leading choice for communication in over 190 countries.

https://www.latterly.org/viber-marketing-strategy/...content=cmp-true
 

The new access programme launches as Open RAN is now projected to account for 20-30% of worldwide RAN revenues by 2028, and as Europe’s Open RAN revenue share is set to nearly double by 2028. Developing and deploying energy efficient Open RAN solutions will be key to supporting the global mobile telecoms sector to achieve its environmental objectives, cutting its carbon footprint whilst meeting growing demand from customers and commercial partners.

https://uktin.net/whats-happening/news/...h-energy-efficient-open-ran
 

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/company/newsrelease/fy2024.html  

Inside Track with Ryan Son, President, Internet Services BU

August 23.08.2024

In the first edition of Rakuten Symphony’s employee live webinar series, ‘The Inside Track’, moderated by comms director James Dartnell, Ryan Son, President of the Internet Services Business Unit, shared his insights on what sets the IS BU apart from its competitors and how he ensures all of the division’s employees are supported to deliver meaningful work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6vMXfI2C-8
 

In an industry often distracted by (if not obsessed with) technology, Rakuten’s update was a reminder that the real priority is achieving significant reduction in the cost of operations, without compromising on quality or security – in particular as operators look to 5G for new revenue potential.
While new basic principles and technical innovations are necessary, organizational change is perhaps the greater part of the challenge to operators, more so even than re-training network engineers in scripting and ML.

The speed and scale of Rakuten’s progress should not be underestimated. The challenges it faces – speed and agility, innovation, security, differentiation, scale, resilience – are not unique to Japan, nor to greenfield operators. They are shared by all operators. As Rakuten moves into a new phase of its mobile mission, the wider benefits of its approach, beyond rapid buildout, will become even more apparent.

Rakuten continues to offer the industry a window into what that alternative mode of operations looks like, as well as the journey to get there. We look forward to this Symphony’s imminent second movement.

https://appledoreresearch.com/2022/08/11/...obile-symphony-q2-update/
 

Rakuten Surges as Morgan Stanley MUFG, Citi Raise Price Targets

By Aya Wagatsuma

August 27, 2024 at 10:52PM EDT

The stock advanced as much as 9.8%, the most in two weeks, as MS-MUFG analysts including Tetsuro Tsusaka wrote that a fair value of ¥1,500 could be plausible from its mobile business contribution.
“Competitiveness is recovering with network quality improving, prices looking more appealing versus competitors and synergies from the Rakuten ecosystem,” he wrote. The firm raised its price target to ¥1,300 from ¥1,100.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2024/08/28/...ise-price-targets/
 

Viber: Launches the Delete Without Trace feature for its premium users

20 August 2024

Rakuten Viber announces Delete without Trace, a long-awaited feature that allows premium Viber Plus users to discreetly undo their messages - regardless of whether the recipients have already read them. The release comes in response to high demand from users, for whom this feature emerged as the top priority from a list of other potential services, according to a poll conducted in six key markets.

Since January this year, Rakuten Viber has seen a 170% increase in Viber Plus subscribers. Exclusive features and content are available in 100 countries, to millions of Viber users.

https://primetel.com.cy/...t-trace-feature-for-its-premium-users-6266
 

The stock advanced as much as 9.8%, the most in two weeks, as MS-MUFG analysts including Tetsuro Tsusaka wrote that a fair value of ¥1,500 could be plausible from its mobile business contribution.  

Global Finance World’s Best Consumer Digital Bank Awards

https://www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/press/2024/240828.html
 

https://payment.rakuten.co.jp/news/2024082900/
 

Rakuten Is A Buy After Above-Expectations Q2 Performance (Rating Upgrade)

Aug. 14, 2024 9:43 AM ET

https://seekingalpha.com/article/...ons-q2-performance-rating-upgrade
 

In an industry often distracted by  technology, Rakuten’s update was a reminder that the real priority is achieving significant reduction in the cost of operations, without compromising on quality or security – in particular as operators look to 5G for new revenue potential.  

The global O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) Market is estimated to be worth USD 911.53 Million in 2023 and is projected to reach a value of USD 46,185.96 Million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 75.2% during the forecast period 2024-2030.

The cost reductions and enhanced network resilience is fueling the growth of the Global O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) Market.

Open RAN architecture and technology offer significant cost reductions in deploying and managing mobile networks. This is achieved by promoting competition among vendors and streamlining network management. Expensive proprietary hardware becomes unnecessary as operators can now source components from multiple vendors. This diverse ecosystem not only leads to cost savings but also boosts network resilience. By incorporating equipment from various suppliers, operators can avoid relying solely on one vendor, which helps protect their networks from potential vulnerabilities or service disruptions. Therefore, this factor propels the demand for Open RAN.

https://virtuemarketresearch.com/report/o-ran-market