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/
Questex's Fierce Network Announces Finalists for the 2024 Fierce Innovation Awards
December 13, 2024
https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/12/13/...e-innovation-awards/2021226
December 13, 2024
Rakuten Viber officially announced on December 4 that the communities on the Rakuten Viber app has been upgraded, enabling users to participate in communities more effectively and actively.
Vietnam is a key market for the continuous development of Rakuten Viber in the global market. Therefore, throughout many years of operation in Vietnam, Rakuten Viber has consistently provided users and businesses with continuously improved features, creating a super app for Vietnamese users. These recent updates also reflect this commitment to constantly improving the app, to provide users with the best experiences.
https://vir.com.vn/...s-new-features-for-users-in-vietnam-119574.html
December 10, 2024
Rakuten Symphony has appointed experienced telecom and IT executive Sanjay Saraswat as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of its RAN Business Unit. He is based in the Rakuten Symphony Bengaluru office and reports to Anil Sawkar, President of the RAN BU.
Sanjay brings vast experience to the role from a career that has traversed various global markets, including the United Kingdom – where he earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge - Canada and India, where he has held a number of executive roles, including Chief Information Officer of Reliance Globalcom. Sanjay also established RAN solutions provider Airspan’s R&D centers in Mumbai and Bangalore, transforming them into key operational hubs in his capacity as VP and Head of R&D for India.
“I am very excited to bring my experience in both telecom and IT to enhance Rakuten Symphony’s RAN value proposition,” Sanjay said. “For many years, I have been impressed with Rakuten Symphony’s highly impressive track record of in-house innovation, a legacy that I hope to continue in my role by developing solutions that benefit mobile network operators today and in the future.”
Sanjay also put on record his admiration for Rakuten Symphony’s plans to launch its Open RAN licensing program. “I believe that the model has the potential to be very disruptive,” he said. “It is a unique concept by telecom industry standards – it shows our clear intent of taking the lead about introducing positive disruption and new economic models to telecom.”
Sanjay highlighted the importance of the evolving practices and skillsets that Rakuten Symphony’s RAN Business Unit is looking to introduce.
“Traditional methodologies in R&D are changing, as are the skills needed in the RAN space,” he said. “There's a greater push towards automating the human-intensive aspects so that our intelligence can be channelled into other efforts – this is something we hope to channel. Rakuten Symphony also hopes to introduce new, cutting-edge skills into the RAN Business Unit around AI-ML specialization, mobile network architecture and algorithm development and I look forward supporting that evolution and in turn growing our portfolio.”
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...rector-coo-for-ran-business-unit
Norbert Gehrke
Nov 17, 2024
Rakuten Bank’s first-half 2024 results are in, and they have blown past expectations. Profits are up significantly, and the bank has raised its full-year net profit guidance by a whopping 22%, from ¥37.8 billion to ¥46.2 billion.
Ordinary Income: ¥83.6 billion (+26.9% year-over-year)
Ordinary Profit: ¥31.0 billion (+37.8% year-over-year)
Net Income: ¥22.1 billion (+37.5% year-over-year)
ROE (Annualized): 16.2% (+2.5pts year-over-year)
Total Deposits: ¥11.1 trillion (+16.4% year-over-year)
Number of Accounts: 16.1 million (+12.6% year-over-year)
Main Account Ratio: 32.4%
Guidance Upgrade and Future Outlook
The impressive first-half results prompted Rakuten Bank to raise its guidance for the full fiscal year 3/25:
Ordinary Revenue: ¥178.5 billion (+29.4% year-over-year, up 9.8% from initial guidance)
Ordinary Profit: ¥65.0 billion (+34.5% year-over-year, up 22.1% from initial guidance)
Net Profit: ¥46.2 billion (+34.2% year-over-year, up 22.3% from initial guidance)
https://medium.com/tokyo-fintech/...ions-raises-guidance-8dfec8c1d467
Heavy Reading operator survey shows that 48% of respondents believe open RAN products/architectures are now "mature for scale deployments."
Gabriel Brown, Principal Analyst, Heavy Reading
November 6, 2024
Open RAN is getting closer to commercial viability at scale. More than half of respondents (58%) to the newly released Heavy Reading 2024 Open RAN Operator Survey expect their company to have "a scaled live deployment in a city, region, or larger area" by the end of 2025. Among larger operators — those with more than $5bn in annual revenue — 69% expect to have a scaled live deployment by the end of 2025. This data indicates that open RAN technology could be close to an important adoption threshold.
In conclusion, open RAN is making concrete progress and is increasingly embedded in vendor product roadmaps and operator deployment plans. At the same time, this article is a call for realism. Operators have a great responsibility to maintain reliable mobile network services — critical services we all rely on — and this inevitably forces a stepwise approach to scaling open RAN.
https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/...n-ran-products-jumps-in-2024
Rakuten Group (TSE:4755) is making significant strides in the telecommunications sector, with its mobile subscriber base reaching 8.12 million lines, and achieving a notable profitability milestone with a non-GAAP operating income of ¥12.3 billion. The company faces challenges such as attracting senior customers and dealing with high initial customer support costs, although AI integration has helped mitigate these issues.
https://simplywall.st/stocks/jp/retail/tse-4755/...uho-alliance-and-m
•§Christmas Eve (2015) (U.K. and Ireland)
•§I’m Not Ready for Christmas (2015) (U.K. and Ireland)
•§Santa Who? (2000) (Germany, Switzerland, Austria)
•§12 Gifts of Christmas (2015) (Germany, Switzerland, Austria)
•§Incidencias (2015) (Spain)
•§Noel (2004) (Spain)
•§Enchanted Christmas (2017) (Italy)
•§It’s Christmas, Carol! (2012) (Italy)
•§The Legend of the Christmas Witch (2018) (France)
•§Holly Star (2018) (France)
The 100% Christmas channel will be available on the Rakuten TV app and on platforms including Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Xiaomi and Vidaa.
https://tvnewscheck.com/digital/article/...two-new-seasonal-channels/
Rakuten is poised to capitalize on several opportunities, leveraging AI across its services to enhance customer experiences and reduce costs, as shared by Chief AI Officer Ting Cai. The expansion of Rakuten Symphony is another area of focus, with plans to secure over 100 customers next year, reflecting its commitment to business growth. Strategic partnerships, such as the alliance with Mizuho Financial Group to enhance fintech offerings, further bolster its market position. These initiatives not only promise to drive performance but also position Rakuten to capture emerging opportunities in the fintech and telecommunications sectors.
https://simplywall.st/stocks/jp/retail/tse-4755/...uho-alliance-and-m
By Charlie King
December 08, 2024
Rakuten TV is part of Rakuten Group, Inc., a global technology leader. As one of the leading streaming platforms in Europe, Rakuten TV features more than 10,000 titles available on-demand, including films, documentaries and series from Hollywood and local studios, as well as the catalogue with Original and Exclusive content.
The advertisement supporting service consists of an extensive line-up of over 500 unique channels among which 100 Owned & Operated (O&O) across Europe, including free linear channels from global networks, top European broadcasters and media groups, and the platform’s own thematic channels with curated content.
Rakuten TV is available in 43 European territories and currently reaches more than 150 million households via its branded remote-control button and pre-installed app in Smart TV devices.
“As one of Europe's leading streaming platforms, we believe it is essential for creators and distributors of entertainment to represent reality in a complete, inclusive and accurate way, while minimizing their impact on the environment and promoting a culture of sustainability,” says Fabiana Cumia, ESG and PR Director at Rakuten TV.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/...sible-sustainable-streaming
By Steve Hutt
In This Article:
Understanding Rakuten’s Cashback System
Earn Passive Income with Rakuten Affiliate Marketing
Optimizing Your Earnings With Rakuten’s Referral Program
Exploring Rakuten’s In-Store Cashback Opportunities
Create a Stream of Income with Rakuten’s Credit Card
Maximize Your Earnings Through Everyday Shopping
Using Rakuten Travel and Vacation Deals to Earn More
Increase Your Savings With Rakuten Coupons and Promo Codes
Expand Your Earnings with Rakuten Double Cash Back Stores
Rakuten Shopping Rewards: Shop Smarter, Not Harder
Discovering Under-The-Radar Ways to Earn With Rakuten
Rakuten Mobile App: Earning on the Go
Deal Stacking with Rakuten for Greater Rewards
Make Money Online with Rakuten and Side Gigs
Rakuten Deals and Saving Hacks for Smart Consumers
Conclusion
https://ecommercefastlane.com/how-to-make-money-with-rakuten-2024/
Rakuten Mobile co-CEO Sharad Sriwastawa expressed confidence its improved network performance was helping drive steady subscriber growth, with the operator apparently on track to being EBITDA positive in December.
In its earnings documents, it stated total mobile users hit 8.1 million earlier this month.
“We’re on the right trend. We want to growth to 10 million, then to 12 million or 15 million.”
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/rakuten/...growth-as-coverage-widens/
The company's trading price below its estimated fair value suggests potential for future appreciation, especially as it leverages AI and expands Rakuten Symphony to secure new business opportunities. The combination of these factors indicates a promising yet challenging path forward, with significant potential for improved financial performance and market share expansion.
https://simplywall.st/stocks/jp/retail/tse-4755/...uho-alliance-and-m
- New Large Language Model and first Small Language Model deliver greater efficiency and aim to make AI applications accessible for everyone
Tokyo, December 18, 2024 – Rakuten Group, Inc. has unveiled two new AI models: Rakuten AI 2.0, the company’s first Japanese large language model (LLM) based on a Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture, and Rakuten AI 2.0 mini, the company’s first small language model (SLM). Both models will be released to the open-source community to empower companies and professionals developing AI applications by Spring 2025.
Rakuten AI 2.0 is an 8x7B MoE foundation model based on the Rakuten AI 7B model released in March 2024. This MoE model is comprised of eight 7 billion parameter models, each as a separate expert. Each individual token is sent to the two most relevant experts, as decided by the router. The experts and router are continually trained together with vast amounts of high-quality Japanese and English language data.
Rakuten AI 2.0 mini is a 1.5 billion parameter foundation model and the first SLM developed by the company. The model was trained from the beginning on extensive Japanese and English language datasets curated and cleaned through an in-house multi-stage data filtering and annotation process, ensuring high-performance and accuracy in text generation tasks.
"At Rakuten, we see AI as a catalyst to augment human creativity and drive greater efficiency. Earlier this year, we launched a 7B Japanese LLM to accelerate AI solutions for local research and development," commented Ting Cai, Chief AI & Data Officer of Rakuten Group. "Our new cutting-edge Japanese LLM and pioneering SLM set new standards in efficiency, thanks to high-quality Japanese language data and innovative algorithms and engineering. These breakthroughs mark a significant step in our mission to empower Japan’s businesses and professionals to create AI applications that truly benefit users."
High efficiency with advanced architecture
Rakuten AI 2.0 employs a sophisticated Mixture of Experts architecture, which dynamically selects the most relevant experts for given input tokens, optimizing computational efficiency and performance. The model offers comparable performance to 8x larger dense models, while consuming approximately 4x less computation than dense models during inference.
Increased performance
Rakuten has conducted model evaluations with the LM Evaluation Harness*4 for Japanese and English capability measurements. The leaderboard evaluates language models based on a wide range of Natural Language Processing and Understanding tasks that reflect the characteristics of the target language. Rakuten AI 2.0’s average Japanese performance improved to 72.29 from 62.93 over eight tasks compared to Rakuten AI 7B, the open LLM Rakuten released in March 2024.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/1218_01.html
Through the pre-training of the existing foundational model „Rakuten AI 7B” with 7 billion parameters, it became possible to accelerate the pre-training process using large and complex data by expanding the in-house designed multi-node GPU cluster. Rakuten aims to contribute to the open-source community by providing the latest LLM and SLM as open models, further advancing Japanese language LLM. By continuing to develop the latest LLM models in-house, we will accumulate knowledge and know-how, working towards the expansion of the “Rakuten Ecosystem” (economic zone).
Rakuten has adopted the theme of “AI-nization” to signify AI utilization in all aspects of our business for further growth. We are committed to promoting efforts to leverage AI across various aspects of business to drive growth. Through the utilization of abundant data and cutting-edge AI technology, we aim to create new value for people around the world.
https://www.moomoo.com/news/post/47271779/..._ticket=1734542258442720
Post published: December 13, 2024
https://mobile-contract-guide.com/en/...ve-on-mobile-bills-5-steps-en
In this exciting first episode, we chat with Ting Cai, Rakuten Group Chief AI & Data Officer, who shares how Rakuten AI is unlocking unlimited potential for smarter, more impactful solutions for businesses and users alike. Cai also shares why responsible AI is so important and how Rakuten ensures our innovation is guided by ethics, transparency and trust. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes, where we’ll sit down with other Rakuten AI leaders to explore how they’re shaping the future of AI innovation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMRTvPchwqc
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