Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
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/
April 02.04.2025
Watch this MWC 2025 Barcelona panel discussion on Rakuten’s Real Open RAN Licensing Program, an open community subscription model that is set to allow third party access to Rakuten Symphony’s innovative Open RAN code base. In this session: Roy Chua, Founder & Principal, AvidThink (moderator) Sharad Sriwastawa, co-CEO, Rakuten Mobile & President, Rakuten Symphony Mohit Joshi, CEO & Managing Director, Tech Mahindra Masum Mir, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Cisco Glenn Laxdal, President & CEO, Airspan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwDAmPrfgik
Since the full-scale launch of its mobile carrier service in April 2020, Rakuten Mobile has continued on its mission to democratize the mobile industry, surpassing 8.5 million subscribers in just less than five years. The company offers an affordable and simple service plan, the Rakuten Saikyo Plan, and has continued to improve its network quality. As a result, Rakuten Mobile ranked first in the 2024 Oricon Customer Satisfaction Survey of Mobile Carriers for the second consecutive year.
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2025/0228_02/
Taipei, April 15, 2025 – Taiwan Rakuten Card, Inc., a subsidiary of Rakuten Card Co., Ltd., today announced the launch of two new premium Visa credit cards: the Rakuten Premium Infinite Card and the Rakuten Premium Signature Card. Designed for frequent travelers and customers seeking enhanced rewards, these cards offer enhanced rewards that include travel insurance, Taiwan Rakuten Card Points, and airline mile conversion with Asia Miles and EVA Air.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2025/...p;category=fintech
- Non-Japanese residents account for approx. 25% of all Rakuten Mobile Store contracts
Tokyo, April 15, 2025 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced it has been ranked first in the "Most Used Mobile Services Ranking Among Foreign Residents" category in a survey conducted by MMD Labo* on mobile services used by non-Japanese residents.
Rakuten Mobile stores have seen a significant increase in foreign subscribers, who now represent approximately 25% of all contracts, as a result of the mobile carrier’s initiatives specifically targeting foreign residents of Japan.
MMD Labo's survey shows that Rakuten Mobile's pricing plans and data capacity are attracting non-Japanese users, with 21.0% of surveyed foreign customers already subscribed to Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network. In addition, Rakuten Mobile received high marks in the ranking of mobile carriers considered for switching, with 25.2% of foreign residents considering signing up.
Notably, word-of-mouth referrals from acquaintances and colleagues are the primary driver of awareness for Rakuten Mobile, demonstrating a growing influence among users born abroad.
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20250415_01_lang_en
Singapore, April 15, 2025 – Rakuten Travel today announced that it will hold an interactive on-site event entitled “Rakuten Travel Arcade: Capture Japan,” in collaboration with the internationally recognized Japanese discount chain DON DON DONKI.
Jasmine Seah, Country Marketing Manager for Rakuten Travel Singapore, stated, “Singapore is a key market for Rakuten Travel, and we are thrilled to launch this campaign together with the internationally recognized Japanese retailer DON DON DONKI. We believe this unique initiative will resonate with Singaporean travelers and inspire them to explore the wonders of Japan with us. Rakuten Travel is committed to provide our customers with a seamless and rewarding travel booking experience, offering them a wide selection of accommodations to create unforgettable memories in Japan.”
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/update/2025/0415_02.html
By Linda Hardesty Mar 27, 2025
Rakuten Mobile is using AI in conjunction with photos to check the work of field technicians
Rakuten is also using AI to detect "sleeper cells" in its network
https://www.fierce-network.com/modernization/...work-field-operations
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In Vietnam's fast-paced digital dating scene, swiping is easy—but finding something real proves far more difficult. Moreover, dating apps are no longer just about romance; they've become a gateway to meet new people and expand social circles. According to A Decision Lab survey, while 56% of single Vietnamese use dating apps, only 39% are actively seeking love. A surprising 48% prioritize friendship, and 34% even leverage these platforms for networking.
Viber also understands that you may want to keep your dating life private. That's why your dating profile will be strictly separate from your primary Viber account, and will only be visible to other Viber Dating users. Your main Viber connections will never know or be notified when you are signing up to and using the dating feature nor see your dating-related conversations and activities. Viber Dating is accessible in a separate tab from your Chats.
David Tse, Senior Director at Rakuten Viber APAC, shares that Viber Dating was developed after a series of focus groups with Viber users, which revealed that people want genuine connections with real people and high-quality matches, but were very concerned about keeping their identities private. "Viber's mission as a super app is to create safe and trusted connections, and this extends to the dating world, providing users with much-needed peace of mind," says Tse. "Given these measures, we hope we can further protect our users from fake profiles and love scams."
https://en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/...e-now-in-vietnam-485225.shtml
April 15, 2025
Did you know that, thanks to the recent popularity of Korean products in Japan, many Korean businesses are opening stores on Rakuten Ichiba in Japan? In fact, the transaction value of Korean cosmetics on Rakuten Ichiba has grown approximately ninefold in the last six years, making Rakuten Ichiba an important platform for Korean businesses expanding into the region. At the Rakuten Ichiba Korea Conference 2025 held in Seoul, Rakuten shared strategies and deepened collaboration with Korean merchants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3joEUsOcB5w&t=48s
April 16, 2025
Rakuten Kobo's subscription service, "Kobo Plus," is expanding worldwide, and we report from the event to mark its latest launch in Singapore and Malaysia. With millions of eBooks and audiobooks available in multiple languages, Kobo Plus aims to remove price barriers, encouraging readers to explore new authors and genres across multiple devices, including eReaders, apps, and tablets. Watch this video to learn how Kobo Plus is transforming the reading experience for users worldwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oraSMpCE72g&t=35s
Online conglomerate Rakuten is home to Japan’s largest loyalty points programme. More than 100 million members access upwards of 70 online services from its ecosystem, ranging from hotel bookings to brokerage and banking. Despite achieving consistent revenue growth across the 27 years since its inception, the company’s stock trades at a mere 0.6 times price-to-sales ratio. That's half the market average, meaning other investors appear to undervalue it. The reason for their caution is because of Rakuten’s capital-intensive decision to develop its mobile phone network. This venture required a significant outlay. However, its accelerating pick-up in paying subscribers could make the network profitable by year-end.
If Rakuten Mobile grows its share of the Japanese market from about 4 per cent to 10 per cent, the parent group’s enterprise value could double (ie its total value, taking debt and cash reserves into consideration). In addition, the division could add value to the entire ecosystem. By providing another customer touchpoint, the business improves Rakuten’s access to data and could help the parent company cross-sell more services.
https://www.bailliegifford.com/en/uk/...he-next-opportunity-10049002/
7 hours ago
https://rakuten.today/blog/...than-just-a-feeling-its-a-strategy.html
Updated on Mon, Mar 3, 2025
Red Hat announced that it will provide Rakuten Mobile with access to its expertise, technology, and experience in managing complex and expansive Linux estates, all while allowing its own experts to innovate and enhance customer experience. This consists of using Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux for its fully virtualized end-to-end cloud-native network.
The same solutions will be provided to Rakuten Symphony, a global provider of cloud-native open RAN infrastructure and services, allowing them to empower its global telco and enterprise customers.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s advanced security features, vendor neutrality, and hybrid cloud consistency—along with other features—will boost Rakuten’s open RAN initiatives, licensing, private 5G partnerships, and satellite-enabled LTE connectivity.
Red Hat will also support Rakuten Cloud’s efforts to certify its Cloud-Native Storage on Red Hat OpenShift facilitating easier integration with Kubernetes-native tooling.
https://www.techdogs.com/tech-news/td-newsdesk/...ift-cloud-solutions
April 15, 2025
From dismantling radios to leading cloud-native telecom integrations in Japan, Vijayaragavan R, Tech Lead at Rakuten Symphony, shares how his passion for technology turned into a career shaping the future of telecom.
What’s next for you in your career?
I’m always looking forward to new opportunities to explore and innovate. Right now, I’m focused on enhancing network automation and improving interoperability within Open RAN networks.
I’m also excited about exploring AI-driven solutions for network management, finding ways to make telecom operations even smarter, more efficient, and future-ready. The industry is evolving rapidly, and I’m looking forward to being part of that transformation.
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...onversation-with-vijayaragavan-r
13 hours ago
Rakuten Product Conference (RPC) 2025, a flagship event from Rakuten India, is set to take place virtually on April 23. Now in its fifth year, RPC 2025 offers a deep dive into what it takes to build an AI-ready organization. Free and open to the public, the conference promises to be an insightful and engaging experience for anyone looking to leverage AI for sustainable growth and innovation.
https://rakuten.today/blog/...at-rakuten-product-conference-2025.html
Rakuten Symphony, Inc. announced the addition of object storage to the Rakuten Cloud-Native Storage Platform. Kubernetes-ready, highly scalable and cost effective, object storage brings greater durability, flexibility and simplification for managing large volumes of data in use cases including data lakes, cloud-native storage, and machine learning. Object storage will be generally available to any Rakuten Cloud-Native Storage customer in May 2025.
"Data storage and management is becoming increasingly challenging to industries operating in dynamic cloud environments and at the edge," said Partha Seetala, President, Cloud BU at Rakuten Symphony. "To address these challenges, we're adding object storage to the Rakuten Cloud-Native Storage Platform. We're excited to bring our complete Cloud Native Storage to vital industries around the world."
“We're operating the world's first telecom edge cloud deployment with Rakuten Mobile in Japan, deploying Open RAN and core services on the cloud while serving more than 8.5 million subscribers and growing," said Ryota Mibu, General Manager, Cloud Platform Department at Rakuten Mobile, Inc. "Rakuten Cloud and its suite of solutions including cloud-native platform, orchestrator and storage enable Rakuten Mobile to run virtual network functions and cloud network functions 30 percent faster while massively reducing deployment time and costs. With object storage, we can deploy cloud-native applications and microservices faster, at a lower cost, while reaching more subscribers."
https://vmblog.com/archive/2025/04/09/...native-storage-platform.aspx
Paris, April 17, 2025 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced the establishment of Rakuten Tech Center Europe, a new tech entity committed to fostering innovation, enhancing collaboration and solidifying the company's technological leadership within the European market. The new center officially commenced operations on April 1, 2025, with a launch event held at its office in the heart of Paris on April 16.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2025/...&category=corp
In addition to revenue growth, significant improvements in Rakuten Mobile's profitability and cost optimization successes at the Group level contributed to consolidated Non-GAAP operating income of 7.0 billion yen for FY2024, up 160.1 billion yen YoY.
If the same step will happen in 2025, the consolidated Non-GAAP operating income for FY2025 will be 167.1 billion yen = $1.21 billion = $0.56/share.
The mission is to connect everybody and enable all to be.
April 17, 2025
Edge computing has steadily found its footing, adding value to an expanding set of enterprise use cases. Today, it is increasingly common to see edge deployments supporting point-of-sale systems, factory operations and distributed branches.
Now, it is set to play a more prominent and critical role in a range of deployments.
This is a key takeaway from Rakuten Cloud and Google Cloud 's discussions with customers and partners at Google Cloud Next '25 , which took place last week in Las Vegas.
Driven by AI-powered applications, the need for real-time decision-making and rising operational complexity, edge deployments are evolving from isolated systems into critical enablers of modern business strategies.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/...rprise-needs-rakuten-symphony-qchfe
Rakuten Mobile executives take the stage at the Rakuten Booth during MWC 25 as they share the remarkable journey of Rakuten Mobile since its 2019 launch as Japan's fourth network operator. This insightful session explores how Rakuten's autonomous automation technology and Rakuten AI innovations have revolutionized network performance and capacity. Discover the end-to-end strategy that has positioned Rakuten Mobile as a disruptive force in telecommunications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZnvk0Npvds&t=32s
What is your vision for Rakuten Mobile as co-CEO?
“For Rakuten Mobile we want to be the number one wireless provider in Japan. In the years to come we will be working towards full network automation, which is zero touch, zero trust, zero intervention operations for a secure and optimized network – this is the beauty of Open RAN and Cloudification.”
“The industry is now seeing an accelerated rate of adoption of Open RAN, and Rakuten is leading the way driving this growing trend. Building the world’s first virtualized Open RAN in a vendor agnostic environment was a challenge, but Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony are now able to provide network operators and network vendors with all the tools they need to plan, build, deploy and operate a world-class network. We are all excited to continue this journey.”
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/about/...ew-ceo-cto_lang_en
New services and improved value are a must. People want and need to use telecom services every day—but we must continually evaluate the value of connectivity we deliver, and change or expand offerings to match the opportunity. MNOs that are not growing are dying. This is the most important focus of all telecom ecosystem participants. The future will run on AI and data. Rakuten makes an additional 50% ARPU from non-direct connectivity revenue through the bigger digital ecosystem. As operators we all need to design our own growth. This starts with business models and experience above the network. We openly share our learnings, but if you want to learn more please reach out.
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...realities-to-guide-2025-planning