Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
https://www.upstart.com/careers/open-roles
Press Articles about Upstart
September 8, 2020
Nat Hoopes Leaving the Marketplace Lending Association
Peter Renton, Lend Academy
August 26, 2020
Ann Toews - On changing careers, and going from the Army to Tech
OhioX Podcast
August 11, 2020
How to Get a Personal Loan in a COVID-19 Economy
Annie Millerbernd, NerdWallet
July 29, 2020
Upstart’s Paul Gu: ‘AI is a mindboggling change in the economics of lending’
Zachary Miller, Tearsheet
June 29, 2020
Fintech Upstart to offer AI-powered auto lending
Vaidik Trivedi, Auto Finance News
https://www.upstart.com/press
September 8, 2020
Nat Hoopes Leaving the Marketplace Lending Association
Peter Renton, Lend Academy
August 26, 2020
Ann Toews - On changing careers, and going from the Army to Tech
OhioX Podcast
August 11, 2020
How to Get a Personal Loan in a COVID-19 Economy
Annie Millerbernd, NerdWallet
July 29, 2020
Upstart’s Paul Gu: ‘AI is a mindboggling change in the economics of lending’
Zachary Miller, Tearsheet
June 29, 2020
Fintech Upstart to offer AI-powered auto lending
Vaidik Trivedi, Auto Finance News
https://www.upstart.com/press
Spanish soccer club say assets included in one-year deal ‘optimised’ for post-pandemic era.
Posted: November 6 2020
Spanish soccer giants Barcelona have extended their shirt sponsorship deal with Japanese ecommerce firm Rakuten for the 2021/2022 season.
The existing contract, worth €55 million (US$64 million) annually and signed in 2016, was due to expire at the end of the current La Liga campaign, but Barcelona have exercised an option included in the original agreement to add another year to the deal.
The arrangement ensures that Tokyo-headquartered Rakuten will remain as Barcelona’s main sponsor and global innovation and entertainment partner until 30th June 2022, with its logo continuing to appear on the front of the team’s playing shirts.
Mundo Deportivo’s report in August said that both Rakuten and Beko were looking to continue their deals at a reduced price, but it is unclear if the value of Barcelona’s contract with their main shirt sponsor has changed under the one-year extension.
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/...sponsor-rakuten-extension-2022
Tokyo-based Rakuten, which also owns companies in advertising, telecommunications and e-books, acquired the streaming site in 2013 as part of its own global expansion.
Rakuten Viki uses a tiered subscription system, offering free content with ads and monthly subscriptions of $4.17 or $8.33.
Although it targets a global audience, Rakuten Viki has a big following in the U.S., where it attracted 5 million users in the last month. The company has more than 100 employees with offices in Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore.
Even so, Rakuten Viki maintains it has the shows that American viewers want to watch. Among the sites hosting the top 10 most in-demand Korean-language series in the U.S., Rakuten Viki beat out Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Rakuten Viki’s Watch Party is just the most recent addition to expand the site’s community of users at a time when people remain sheltered in their homes and unable to go to movie theaters or concerts.
Wu said the function was being developed well before the pandemic, but it has presented a solution to the new issues of isolation.
“We’ve heard from users that through Viki, they feel a sense of belonging and they feel connected to the community when they consume content,” Wu said. “They feel like they’re no longer alone, and they feel like they’re a part of a community, and they feel connected to other fans that love the same type of content that they love.”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/...-watch-parties-parasite
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/...y-contract-sign-up-fees--1360523
https://eurowire.co/uncategorized/740053/...alipay-paytm-rakuten-pay/
He said its fully virtualised cloud-native network allows it to reduce costs and pass the saving on to customers with its ‘Zero declaration’, which also offers free SIM replacements and transfers.
Since switching carriers in Japan also can be complicated, the boss of the new operator said it is launching eKYC, a secure AI-based ID verification system. Starting 9 November, consumers, after first registering their facial images from their driver’s licence, can use a smartphone to verify their ID for online contracts.
The newcomer is not concerned moves by rivals to lower tariffs, due to pressure from the government, will reduce its price advantage, because the gap is so wide. Its mobile service plan is 71 per cent lower than the competition, he claimed, adding its open network structure enabled it to significantly reduce the required network investment and also lower opex by automating many processes.
CTO Tareq Amin claimed its RAN technology allowed it to improve coverage per site by nearly 30 per cent compared with traditional equipment.
He said its deployment plan is five years ahead of schedule, targeting 80 per cent population coverage in March 2021.
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/...th-fresh-fee-cuts
You can see the full list of winners below and find that only one company one more than once – last year’s big winner SK Telecom – which grabbed the ‘best operator’ award for the second year running. SK is being rewarded for its pioneering work on 5G and other trailblazing companies such as Rakuten Mobile, Altiostar and Parallel stood out too.
Ground-breaking Virtualization Initiative
Winner: Rakuten Mobile – Rakuten Mobile Network
Best Vendor 5G Innovation
Winner: Altiostar Networks – Container-Based, Cloud-Native 5G RAN software
https://telecoms.com/507321/...ies-win-big-at-the-2020-glotel-awards/
Viber claims of 35 per cent jump in activations post-Pegasus
Messaging platform Rakuten Viber, which is also end-to-end encrypted, is claiming a 30-35 per cent jump in installations after news broke of how NSO used Whatsapp to target over 1400 people across the world.
Written by Nandagopal Rajan | New Delhi | Updated: November 20, 2019
The flurry of people joining Telegram after Pegasus spyware exploited a vulnerability on Whatsapp might not be an isolated phenomenon after all. Now, messaging platform Rakuten Viber, which is also end-to-end encrypted, is claiming a 30-35 per cent jump in installations after news broke of how NSO used Whatsapp to target over 1400 people across the world.
“We did see close to a 30 to 35 per cent increase in activations, which means people registering on our platform. I would expect that this was largely be driven by this (Pegasus),” Anubhav Nayyar, Sr. Director, BD for APAC region told indianexpress.com. Nayyar said what was interesting was the fact that user privacy getting compromised could actually lead to some users looking for options, especially in India.
One of the original instant messaging apps, Viber was founded in Israel in 2010 by as a counter to Skype. In 2014, Viber Media was acquired by Japanese multinational Rakuten. Now, Rakuten Viber claims over a billion users across the globe out of which about 50 million are in India.
https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/...claims-viber-6127499/
Upstart Holdings, a leading cloud-based consumer lending platform, filed on Thursday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.
Upstart provides a cloud-based lending platform that leverages artificial intelligence, and the company believes that this allows consumers to benefit from higher approval rates, lower interest rates, and an automated digital experience.
The San Mateo, CA-based company was founded in 2012 and booked $209 million in revenue for the 12 months ended September 30, 2020. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol UPST. Upstart Holdings filed confidentially on March 4, 2020. Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Citi, Jefferies and Barclays are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/...r-a-$100-million-IPO
Eric J. Savitz
Nov. 9, 2020 12:44 pm ET
While tech shares are lagging in Monday’s vaccine-driven rally, some tech laggards are showing dramatic gains on the prospect for a return to a more-normal economic environment.
The upbeat news from Pfizer (ticker: PFE) on a potential Covid-19 vaccine has investors cruising for re-opening plays, snapping up shares of hotel chains, airlines, and cruise-ship operators. And the search has lifted some tech-sector plays.
Ride-sharing: Both Lyft (LYFT) and Uber Technologies (UBER) are obvious bets on a return to business normalcy. Less than a week after winning a big electoral victory in California with the passage of Proposition 22, which allows the company’s to continue to classify workers as contractors, the prospect of a vaccine offers an event bigger potential boost to their prospects. Lyft is the bigger winner, as a pure play on ride-sharing, up 19%. Uber is up 9%, an impressive move, but perhaps tempered by potential slower growth for its food-delivery arm in a recovery.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/...-election-week-puzzle-51604699453
Easy is now a Cabify app. In one app we offer you various ways of getting around the city: taxi, car with driver, scooters… with more options being added all the time. Download our app and ride around the city quickly, affordably and safely.
Why choose Cabify?
Our users highlight:
- Safety: in the app you’ll find various different safety functions such as seeing your journey details, sharing your journey with a friend in real time or activating automatic notifications to advise someone when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- Availability:with more services in just one app, you’ll have more cars and taxis available to you and therefore it’ll be even easier to get a journey.
- Price: discover the various transport options we offer in your city, with a range of price and services. And don’t forget to activate your notifications to receive our best promotions.
- Carbon neutral: CO2 emissions in your journeys with Cabify are offset via a project that protects part of the Amazon rainforest. Ride environmentally responsibly!
- Quality: we strive to offer you the best service and we have dedicated passenger and driver support team.
- Transparency: we show you the estimated price before you order your journey, so that you can travel totally relaxed. In some categories taximeter may apply.
What services are available?
Download our app to see our various services and discover which are available in your city.
- Cabify Lite: the ideal option if you want to ride with a private driver at a good price. You can select your preferences such as radio station or car temperature.
- Easy Taxi: the taxis from Easy are now in Cabify. An ideal option for those who want to get around quickly and affordably.
- Cabify Executive: ride with the same options as Lite but in a superior type of vehicle.
- Easy Economy: get around in taxi at an even more affordable price.
- MOVO: we’ve integrated MOVO’s options, such as scooters, into our app.
- Cabify Pets: for those who never want to be separated from their furry friend!
And many more categories! Get the app and see which ones are available in your area.
How can I order a taxi or private car?
Riding with Cabify is very easy. Follow these steps and you’ll soon be exploring every corner of your city:
1. Download Cabify and register.
2. Choose which payment method fits you best: cash payment, card payment… the app will show which options are available in your city.
3. Tell us where you want to ride and which service you prefer: Cabify Lite, Easy Taxi, MOVO…
5. We’ll show you the estimated journey price.
6. Ready! A taxi will come to pick you up.
Where is it available?
Easy’s taxis and Cabify’s cars are available in more than 90 cities across Latin America and Europe. You can find us in: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain and Uruguay.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...om.easytaxi&hl=de&gl=US
https://oldmatemedia.com/ebook-sales-growth-2020/
Brian Sozzi
Tue, November 10, 2020, 10:07 PM GMT+1
Lyft (LYFT) co-founder and President John Zimmer says his ride-sharing business is fighting like hell to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on human mobility.
The hoped-for-goal from that fight: finally reaching profitability by the fourth quarter of 2021, a goal Lyft has been pointing to consistently throughout the challenging 2020 backdrop. Zimmer reiterated that goal in an interview with Yahoo Finance Tuesday prior to the company’s quarterly earnings release after market close on Tuesday.
Here’s how Lyft performed versus Wall Street estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Net Sales: $499.7 million versus estimates for $486.5 million’Active Riders: 12.5 million versus estimates for 12.8 million.
Adjusted EBITDA Loss: $239.7 million versus estimates for $252.2 million
Diluted Loss Per Share: $0.89 a share loss versus estimates for a $0.91 loss
Zimmer pointed to some $300 million in fresh cost savings by the end of the current quarter as a key driver to profitability.
“Some of the headwinds are now tailwinds after most of the year with the wind in our face — it's now at our back. And we are one of the best recovery stocks there is, and vaccines will further accelerate our recovery,” Zimmer said.
The company’s third quarter active riders rose 44% sequentially to 12.5 million as states opened back up from quarantine. Revenue increased 47% from the second quarter to $499.7 million. Improvements in each metric is not too unlike what rival Uber saw in its third quarter shared last week.
Zimmer added, “The recovery is real. The fundamentals are strong.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lyft-earnings-q3-2020-210727764.html
by Leonard Lee |
Nov 9, 2020 8:22am
Since its LTE network went live, Rakuten Mobile has become a global poster child for the open RAN movement marshalled by the O-RAN Alliance and its members who seek to diversify the telecom vendor landscape. Rakuten’s initial network rollout and subsequent 5G launch proved that open standard based networks running on top of off-the-shelf hardware were technically possible and commercially viable. Moreover, these networks could be fully virtualized, architected and operated in a cloud-native fashion at scale.
Following Rakuten’s lead, DISH recently announced that it was going to be partnering with Intel to lay the foundation for their cloud native mobile network. Intel will be collaborating closely with DISH as well as advising them as they architect their mobile network providing reference designs for radios, front haul optimization and blueprints for servers.
DISH will also be engaging a number of OEM partners that will supply Intel-based RAN hardware for their mobile network infrastructure. Some of these OEMs as well as software firms coincidentally are some of the very same partner companies that are part of the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) ecosystem.
https://www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/...-intel-xeon-and-more
Lyft stock gets a boost as company shifts ‘from overhangs to execution’
Last Updated: Nov. 11, 2020 at 3:20 p.m. ET
By Levi Sumagaysay
Analysts more optimistic amid ride-hailing recovery, Proposition 22 victory
Lyft Inc. shares rose Wednesday as the ride-hailing giant’s third-quarter results eased some of the biggest concerns about its business.
Lyft beat Wall Street’s expectations late Tuesday as ride-hailing continued its recovery and analysts were encouraged by last week’s regulatory victory for gig companies. A majority of California voters approved an initiative to exempt Lyft LYFT, +0.99%, Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, -1.61% and others from a state labor law that would’ve required them to treat gig workers as employees instead of independent contractors.
Promising results from a COVID-19 vaccine trial, announced this week by Pfizer Inc. PFE, -0.41% and BioNTech SE BNTX, -2.93%, also figured into the optimism.
“With [Proposition 22] behind it, and the recent news of an effective COVID vaccine candidate, the floor on LYFT’s stock price has mostly likely risen,” analyst Brian Fitzgerald of Wells Fargo said in a note Wednesday. Wells Fargo kept its equivalent of a buy rating on the stock.
Lyft Chief Financial Officer Brian Roberts said during the call that the company is keeping its eye on Ebitda profitability by the fourth quarter of 2021, stressing that its cost-cutting and discipline will pay off. Analysts are keeping that in mind even as Lyft reported that ride-hailing was still down 44% from the year-ago quarter, though it also said revenue per rider rose.
“Management can’t control the path forward on COVID … At least we’re seeing some light at the end of the tunnel — and until we get there, Lyft continues to execute well against its EBITDA objectives,” said Mark Shmulik, analyst at Bernstein. “The story is shifting from one of overhangs to execution.”
Some analysts are cautiously watching Lyft’s indication that it is more seriously considering diversifying its business. Chief Executive Logan Green said on the call that the company’s delivery pilot went well, although the company is not likely to go the Uber Eats route.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/...cution-11605126001?siteid=yhoof2
Q3/20 Consolidated Results Summary
(JPY bn)
Q3/19 Q3/20 YoY
Revenue
319.1 361.4 +13.2%
Non-GAAP Operating Income
6.2 -28.7 -34.9
Non-GAAP Operating Income Excluding Mobile, Logistics and Investment Business
28.3 37.6 +33.1%
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Q3/19 Q3/20 YoY
Core Business (Includes Ichiba, Travel, Rakuten Rewards (Ebates), Card, Bank, Life Insurance, etc)
Revenue 254.3 274.9 +8.1%
Operating Income 37.2 41.6 +11.9%
Non-recurring / Investments (Includes Securities, General Insurance and Investment Business)
Revenue 29.8 32.9 +10.4%
Operating Income -0.3 4.2 +4.5
Future Growth Investments Includes Logistics-related investments, Mobile, Payment, NBA broadcasting rights, Rakuten Rewards (Ebates) rebranding costs, etc)
Revenue 70.2 96.1 +36.9%
Operating Income -29.7 -76.3 -46.6
20Q3PPT_E.pdf
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Rakuten Card
# of Credit Card holders from 5.3 million in Jun/10 to 20.0 million in Jun/20 (3.8-fold)
Rakuten Bank
# of Internet bank accounts from 3.5 million in Jun/10 to 9.1 million in Jun/20 (2.6-fold)
Raskuten Mobile
# of MVNO subscriptions (mm) from 0.2 million in Jun/10 to 2.3 million in Jun/20 (11.3-fold)
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
20Q3videoPPT_E.pdf
Become No.1 MNO in Japan with Low Pricing and High Quality Service
Transition of Applications:
Exceeded 1.6 Million Applications since launch (November 2020)
Quality
User Experience: Equivalent to other MNOs
DataUsage: Twice as much as other mobile carriers
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
20Q3videoPPT_E.pdf
Why Lyft is getting into delivery
Brian Sozzi
·Editor-at-Large
Thu, November 12, 2020, 5:59 PM GMT+1·2 min read
Lyft (LYFT) has its sights set on entering the delivery industry. But don’t expect the ride-hailing giant to enter into the delivery marketplace business like rival Uber (UBER).
“We started talking to retailers across the board in various categories and what we heard is they need a logistics partner, not a consumer marketplace to step in between them and their consumer, but someone to help them get their packages from point A to point B and sometimes use that shared ride technology to get multiple packages going to one route,” Zimmer told Yahoo Finance Live. “Stay tuned. We are excited to have more of a B2B approach versus a consumer approach, and that will be added to what we are doing in transportation.”
This week, Lyft reported that third quarter active riders rose 44% sequentially to 12.5 million as states opened back up from quarantine. Revenue increased 47% from the second quarter to $499.7 million. Improvements in each metric is not too unlike what rival Uber saw in its third quarter shared last week.
Zimmer pointed to some $300 million in fresh cost savings by the end of the current quarter as a key driver to profitability. The company reiterated its goal of being adjusted EBITDA profitable by the fourth quarter of 2021.
Zimmer is staying hopeful.
“Some of the headwinds are now tailwinds after most of the year with the wind in our face — it's now at our back. And we are one of the best recovery stocks there is, and vaccines will further accelerate our recovery,” Zimmer said. “The recovery is real. The fundamentals are strong.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...ivery-165933237.html?.tsrc=fin-srch
Global GTV: JPY 5.5tn (+15.2% YoY)
Consolidated Revenue: JPY361.4bn (+13.2% YoY)
Domestic EC GMS: JPY1.1tn (+11.7% YoY)
Shopping EC GMS: YoY+29.3%
Rakuten Card Shopping GTV: JPY2.9tn (+20.7% YoY)
Rakuten Card Holders: 20.76 mm (As of September 30, 2020)
Rakuten Securities Accounts: 4.72mm (As of September 30, 2020)
Rakuten Bank Accounts: 9.45 mm (As of September 30, 2020)
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
20Q3videoPPT_E.pdf
Q3/20 GMS: +35.9% YoY
Oct/20GMS: +55.3% YoY
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
20Q3videoPPT_E.pdf
1 Nutzer wurde vom Verfasser von der Diskussion ausgeschlossen: Scansoft