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/
Starting from February 20, 2025, messages from the Electronic Healthcare System (EHCS) with a confirmation code, e-prescription number, or e-referral will be received on Viber. SMS will remain a guaranteed delivery channel for such messages, reported the National Health Service of Ukraine.
If a patient has Viber, messages from the EHCS will be sent primarily through this communication channel. If the patient does not have Viber, an SMS will be delivered to them.
https://antikor.ua/en/articles/...er_sms_ostanutsja_rezervnym_kanalom
https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ua/blog/post/...mmunication-trends/
New Viber feature debuts globally with a safe dating experience for real people to make real connections
By Team Orange
February 16, 2025
https://orangemagazine.ph/2025/...nches-viber-dating-in-the-ph-first/
January 30, 2025
Starting with Korean dramas (K-dramas), Rakuten Viki has solidified its position as the world's top streaming service for Asian content with over 95 million registered users globally, and the excitement levels peaked in late 2024 with the launch of its second annual International K-Drama Day. This video looks at Viki’s approach to content, while highlighting the key events and insights from K-Drama Day 2024, showcasing Rakuten Viki's commitment to bringing exclusive and diverse Asian entertainment to fans worldwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cNHpT4LDTY
To get a better look at Viber’s popularity, let’s take a look at Monthly Active Users (MAUs). As of 2021, Viber reported 820 million active users, a huge growth over the 260 million it reported two years earlier.
During the pandemic, user numbers grew rapidly as people turned to online groups to socialize and share information. Viber pushed this growth with initiatives like Covid-19 chatbots and e-commerce support. App usage remains strong in its key markets.
https://respond.io/de/blog/viber-for-business
Feburary 20, 2025
In Episode 8 of Inside Track, Udai Kanukolanu, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Symphony talks us through how he is bringing his decades of experience to in telecome to delivery mutually beneficial outcomes for Rakuten Symphony and it’s customers. Join Udai as he sits down with James Dartnell, Director, Corporate Communications, EMEA, to discuss what exactly goes into winning deals from start to finish, and how Rakuten Symphony are expanding the organization’s global reach by enhancing it’s own value proposition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnJz3IGZ1YY
Sharanya Pillai
UPDATED Nov 14, 2024, 04:41 PM
SINGAPORE – Online classifieds operator Carousell remains well-funded by its investors, and an initial public offering (IPO) is not the only option to raise capital, said chief executive Quek Siu Rui on Friday.
“We’re so well-capitalised now that it gives us the ability to stay focused on execution,” he said when asked about the company’s plans for an IPO.
“When the time comes for us to think about capital raises, we will look at all options, IPOs being one of them. But there are also many other capital-raising options,” he said, noting that the company has the support of long-term investors.
It was last valued at US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion), and it raised US$123.5 million between 2021 and August this year, according to data platform VentureCap Insights.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/...lthy-narrowing-of-losses-ceo
Mit Blick auf das Geschäftsjahr 2025 strebt die Rakuten Group an, "den konsolidierten Non-GAAP-Betriebsgewinn zu steigern" und "Rakuten Mobile wieder auf die EBITDA-Rentabilität des Gesamtjahres zurückzuführen". Wird das Mobile-Geschäft profitabel, wird sich die Profitabilität des gesamten Konzerns weiter verbessern.
https://en-54177.site-translation.com/posts/135121
Interview - January 16, 2025
Rakuten Securities is dedicated to building a better, more optimistic future by empowering individuals, businesses and societies to realize their dreams.
This has been a record-breaking year for the Japanese financial markets. In March 2024, the Nikkei breached the JPY 40,000 mark. We’ve had increased IPO activity, with 97 companies having gone public, raising over JPY 570 billion. We’ve also seen a surge in private equity deals, with values nearly tripling the annual average from 2018 to 2022. This backdrop has drawn an unprecedented flow of foreign capital into the Japanese financial markets, with foreign investments in Japanese equities reaching a ten-year high. What were the core reasons for the extraordinary performance of Japan’s financial markets, and what makes Japan attractive to foreign investors today?
One of the driving forces of this active market is that on the institutional and wholesale side, there has been corporate governance reform, but our core business is retail. For that, there was recently the introduction of the Nippon (Japan) Individual Savings Account (NISA), and the government expanded the tax exemption for the accumulation of wealth by three times the previous amount and two times more for other investment aspects. Overall, JPY's 3.6 million annual retail investment is now tax-exempt, and that has brought a lot of capital into the retail investment market.
https://www.theworldfolio.com/interviews/...s-defining-optimism/6631/
Feb 05, 2025
New, industry-first solution helps retail marketers optimize Cash Back budgets for increased performance with minimal financial risk
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten, the leading Cash Back shopping platform, launched Programmatic Loyalty, an industry-first advertising solution that leverages AI and Rakuten's robust first-party data to deliver performance-driven outcomes—all with a guaranteed return on ad spend (ROAS). Retailers leveraging Programmatic Loyalty are already seeing impressive results. A leading home and garden brand experienced a 107% year-over-year increase in shoppers during the second half of 2024 during its ongoing campaign.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...-retailers-302368914.html
In 2014, you opened Rakuten Securities Bullion in Hong Kong, offering a unique platform with commission-free trading and high leverage catering to the region’s dynamic trading demands. In 2017, you entered a joint venture with Kenanga Investment Bank to establish Rakuten Trade, the country’s first fully online equities brokerage that enables Malaysian investors to access stock trading and investment management through a digital-first approach. Can you tell us about the challenges for your global operations and how you’re overcoming them, and do you have any plans for further expansion, with or without partners? If so, where and what does a partner of choice look like for Rakuten Securities?
The Rakuten group's strategy is to expand its sphere to the global arena, providing comprehensive services. Following that strategy, Rakuten Securities has expanded overseas. We have established an online brokerage business model in Japan, and we want to apply that to overseas markets, especially those centered on the Asian regions. We have started with Hong Kong and Malaysia.
For Malaysia, we established a joint venture with Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, the biggest brokerage firm company in Malaysia, as Malaysia’s first fully online securities company. Kenanga is a strong local player and has a nudge for the Malaysian people and culture. Our strategy is to develop roots in local communities, which takes time. We need to understand the local market and business culture to provide a brokerage service for local and global stocks successfully. We have dispatched a few members from Japan and have asked the locals to join the company, with them primarily driving the company since they understand the local community mindset.
In Malaysia, since our business model is a stock brokerage, the local regulations require that we have a joint venture with a local company, but in Hong Kong, our business is a margin FX, focusing on a global product. That is the same business model everywhere in the world. Therefore, we have a 100% owned subsidiary, but we have local staff to do marketing and to help penetrate the market.
Are you currently in the early stages, or are you already looking for partners?
We are always looking for new opportunities and partners. We will have discussions and consider how to define our business model and how to find good partners.
https://www.theworldfolio.com/interviews/...s-defining-optimism/6631/
Rakuten hope that this new design will appeal to fans of the Dragon Ball series and encourage them to apply for a new Rakuten Card.
First airing in October 2024, Dragon Ball DAIMA is the most recent series in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Like the normal Rakuten Card, the Dragon Ball DAIMA card will offer the same benefits such as no annual fee, 1x Rakuten Points when used normally and 3x points when used on the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace.
This collaboration with Dragon Ball isn’t the first time Rakuten have featured an anime character on a credit card.
Rakuten’s own Shopping Panda mascot stars in the anime “Okaimono Panda!” which is currently airing on Wednesday evenings in Japan.
Other specially branded credit cards available from Rakuten include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, the Vissel Kobe soccer team and Japanese musician Yoshiki.
https://essential-japan.com/news/rakuten-dragon-ball-credit-card/
2d ago
Ray Sharma
Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of global technology leader Rakuten Group, announced the signing of three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks, and Tech Mahindra. These agreements will bring Rakuten Symphony’s portfolio of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions to market as part of its Real Open RAN Licensing Program.
These partnerships aim to advance equipment vendor adoption and operator deployment of secure and high-performance cloud-native, virtualized 4G/5G mobile networks based on Open RAN standards. As part of the collaboration, Rakuten Symphony and Cisco intend to create a unified Private 5G mobile network offering, combining Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform-based Private 5G Solution with 5G Advanced capabilities and Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN software solutions. This initiative is designed to help global service providers transform their network architecture and build AI-ready infrastructure.
Airspan and Tech Mahindra will resell Rakuten Symphony Open RAN software licenses to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide, covering codebases for the Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), and Operations and Management (OAM) software. Tech Mahindra will also serve as the preferred systems integrator for Rakuten Symphony.
https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-solutions/...pan-tech-mahindra
Tokyo & Barcelona, February 28, 2025 - Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of global technology leader Rakuten Group, has today announced the signing of three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks and Tech Mahindra, that will see the three companies take Rakuten Symphony's portfolio of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions to market as part of its revolutionary Real Open RAN Licensing Program.
"We are revolutionizing mobile networks by making them simpler and fully programmable end-to-end," said Masum Mir, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Provider Mobility, Cisco. "This collaboration is key to fostering greater adoption of 5G services among enterprises of all sizes, enabling them to harness the power of mission-critical applications and prepare for 5G Advanced. Together, we are paving the way for a seamless and transformative digital future."
Glenn Laxdal, CEO and President of Airspan, said "Airspan has been a key partner in Rakuten's Open RAN journey for more than five years, delivering thousands of 4G and 5G radios for their network in Japan. We're excited to expand this collaboration through Rakuten Symphony's Real Open RAN Licensing Program, helping operators and enterprises accelerate the adoption of cloud-native, virtualized networks with proven Open RAN solutions."
Harshvendra Soin, President - Asia Pacific and Japan Business, Tech Mahindra, said, "We are witnessing a shift towards open, programmable, cloud-native networks as operators seek greater efficiency and scalability. Our partnership with Rakuten Symphony reinforces our commitment to accelerate Open RAN adoption and reshaping the future of connectivity worldwide. By leveraging our global presence and Rakuten Symphony's advanced Open RAN solutions, we're enabling telecom operators to embrace next-generation, cost-efficient and scalable network solutions."
https://www.publicnow.com/view/...3CBB850DC149C62965D1594D433F7110932
- The Spring Sales Campaign boosted contracts by 50% for users 18 and under, 40% for those 25 and under compared to last year.
Tokyo, February 28, 2025 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that its total number of subscribers has surpassed 8.5 million as of February 27, 2025, approximately five years since the company’s full-scale launch as a mobile network operator (MNO). In addition, the Spring Sales Campaign targeting 5- to 25-year-olds resulted in a 50% increase in contracts for users 18 and under, and a 40% increase for those 25 and under compared to the previous year.
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.
In 2024, Rakuten Mobile launched a series of new programs designed to provide affordable mobile services to a broad range of customers: the Saikyo Family Program, Saikyo Youth Program, Saikyo Kids Program and Saikyo Senior Program. Starting February 14, 2025, the company launched the New Life Kickstart campaign for customers aged 19 to 25 who sign up for the Rakuten Saikyo Plan, and the Student Boost campaign for customers aged 5 to 18, offering up to 14,000 yen worth of Rakuten Points for each subscriber. By applying for this campaign, customers enrolled in the Saikyo Family Program with data usage under 3GB can effectively use the plan for free for one year through point rebates. Subscriptions have notably increased since the campaign's launch, particularly among the younger generation aged 25 and under.
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20250228_02_lang_en
March 3, 2025
Rakuten Mobile, Japan's newest and most modern mobile network, today announced it will begin deploying base stations utilizing radio units (RU) developed by Fujitsu Limited, as it accelerates the expansion of its 5G (Sub6) network area in 2025.
Leveraging its expertise in building a fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network based on Open RAN standards in Japan, Rakuten Mobile will continue to rapidly deploy 5G Sub6 base stations and expand its coverage area. Fujitsu, through its compact and energy-efficient RU, will support Rakuten Mobile's rollout of 5G commercial services and contribute to the further global adoption of Open RAN.
The RU model to be used by Rakuten Mobile, 44R21, adopts the O-RAN specifications established by the O-RAN ALLIANCE – a worldwide community promoting the development of Open RAN specifications. The RU facilitates communication between the base station's distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU) via a fronthaul interface (1). It has a proven track record of interoperability with equipment from various domestic and international vendors, enabling telecommunications carriers to diversify their equipment choices and mitigate supply chain risks. Additionally, using Fujitsu's proprietary technology, the radio units are designed to be compact, lightweight and energy-efficient, thereby contributing to leaner space requirements and lower network operation costs.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...-expansion-302389882.html
Read more at: https://www.lelezard.com/en/news-21724655.html
NEWBURY, England & MIDLAND, Texas, March 03, 2025
Vodafone Group Plc, a leading European and African telecommunications company, and AST SpaceMobile, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government application, have signed an agreement to create a jointly-owned European satellite service business ("SatCo") to serve mobile network operators (MNOs) in all European markets.
The new venture will exclusively distribute AST SpaceMobile’s satellite services to European MNOs under a single turnkey arrangement. This will be underpinned by a full network management and network operations centre capability, based in Europe, drawing on Vodafone’s advanced engineering expertise. SatCo will build and run a network of ground stations to provide backhaul services from these MNOs across Europe to the satellite network in low Earth orbit.
On January 27, 2025, Vodafone successfully made the world’s first space-based mobile video call from an area without any mobile coverage on the recently launched BlueBirds satellites, supporting the company’s aim to provide ubiquitous mobile coverage for its 340 million customers in 15 countries and its network partners in 45 more markets.
On 19 February 2025, Vodafone, AST SpaceMobile, and the University of Málaga also launched a new space and land mobile broadband research and validation hub, supported by the Spanish Space Agency.
Set to open by Summer 2025 at Vodafone’s existing Innovation Centre in Malaga, the hub will develop integrated low Earth orbit space-based and land mobile broadband services.
In support of its European expansion, AST SpaceMobile is also enhancing its presence in Spain with the recent opening of 5,600 square meters of manufacturing and office space in Barcelona.
These strategic initiatives will enhance AST SpaceMobile’s capabilities to serve the European market by increasing production capacity and accelerating the rigorous testing of its satellite and telecommunications systems.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...obile-sign-agreement-060000098.html
By Kamile Bigenyte
March 3, 2025
Rakuten Symphony announced significant progress with its Real Open RAN Licensing Program by partnering with Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks, and Tech Mahindra. This initiative aims to spread adoption of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology across global telecom markets.
Airspan and Tech Mahindra are tasked with reselling Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN software licenses to telecom operators worldwide. Additionally, Rakuten is set to collaborate with Cisco to create a private 5G mobile network. This network leverages Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform and Rakuten’s Open RAN solutions, with Tech Mahindra serving as Rakuten’s preferred systems integrator.
In essence, these collaborations are expected to simplify and fully program mobile networks. Furthermore, enterprises of all sizes will benefit from improved access to mission-critical applications, ensuring they are ready for the next phase, 5G Advanced. Masum Mir from Cisco emphasizes the importance of this partnership in promoting wider adoption of 5G services and fostering a transformative digital future.
Rakuten Symphony’s Real Open RAN Licensing Program, introduced last year, was called a “ground-breaking initiative.” It is designed to democratize global RAN technology by offering software through an open community model.
https://voip.review/2025/03/03/...-expands-open-ran-key-partnerships/
Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies
March 3, 2025
https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/...hosts-2025-mwc-victory-party
"2024 was a milestone year for AST SpaceMobile, and we enter 2025 even better positioned to lead the emerging direct-to-device satellite communications industry that we invented," said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. "The many pieces of our plan are rapidly coming into place. We advanced our customer ecosystem, formalized definitive commercial agreements, and expanded our U.S. Government capabilities. Finally, we completed a carefully structured financing transaction with minimal dilution to current shareholders, enabling us to accelerate our manufacturing efforts and start 2025 stronger than ever."
"With nearly $1.0 billion in cash on our balance sheet pro forma for the recent offering of convertible notes, an alliance of industry leading partners, and our proprietary technology, we are well-positioned for continued success," added Avellan. "We are laser-focused on building and deploying satellites and expanding our commercial agreements during 2025, moving toward commercial-scale revenues. Our vision has never been clearer, and we believe we have the resources and capabilities to execute our plans."
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...ides-business-fourth-211500747.html
Red Hat announced that it will supply Rakuten Mobile with its Enterprise Linux for Real Time as part of a collaboration aimed at enhancing Rakuten’s fully virtualized, cloud-native network. This partnership also includes support for Rakuten Symphony in developing open RAN telecommunications solutions for global customers.
Red Hat’s contribution will enable Rakuten to utilize advanced Linux technology, allowing Rakuten Symphony to enhance its platforms and tools for telecommunications service providers. Additionally, Red Hat will assist in certifying Rakuten Cloud’s Cloud-Native Storage on Red Hat OpenShift, facilitating integration with Kubernetes-native tools.
The integration of Red Hat’s advanced security features and hybrid cloud capabilities positions Rakuten well to advance open RAN initiatives, private 5G partnerships, and satellite-enabled LTE connectivity. The collaboration emphasizes the need for reliable enterprise support and operating systems that can address the evolving demands of the telecommunications sector. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is designed to offer scalability and dependable performance, assisting organizations in lowering costs and managing workloads across various environments.
https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...se-and-solutions/2025/03/
Rakuten Symphony (which sells Rakuten Mobile's open RAN learnings on a global basis) was almost profitable last year, according to Rakuten Symphony Chief Sharad Sriwastawa. Presumably it too will soon reach financial breakeven: Rakuten Symphony counted 31 customers a year ago, a figure that has grown to 45 today. By the end of 2025, officials expect more than 100 Rakuten Symphony customers.
https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/...hosts-2025-mwc-victory-party
by Fabio Duarte
February 27, 2025
We’ve compiled a list of the top social media platforms.
Specifically, we ranked the most popular social media networks based on number of users and monthly traffic data.
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/top-social-media-platforms
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