Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
Looking ahead to “Beyond 5G,” the Rakuten Mobile Open Innovation Lab aims to support trials to optimize network design and operation through the vRAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), an intelligent component which manages and controls the RAN. Rakuten Mobile is also developing AI applications for the RIC platform, which is expected to automatically improve the performance and stability of Open vRAN, for example by detecting and predicting traffic and anomalies on the network.
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20220823_01_lang_en
Carousell sets up own integrated payment system CarouPay
by Jacopo Natali | Aug 3, 2022 | Marketplaces, Financials / Deals
Multi-vertical classified business Carousell set up its own, integrated payment system, called CarouPay, in collaboration with DBS Bank, Stripe, and Visa.
The partnership with those financial institutions enables clients to pay via Carousell’s app using DBS PayLah!, credit, or debit cards (for transactions that now reach tens of thousands every day).
CarouPay is just one of the many steps forward of this Singaporean classified, which recently gained control of Indonesia-based electronics marketplace Laku6, in a $25 million investment made in conjunction with Heliconia Capital**.**
https://aimgroup.com/2022/08/03/...ntegrated-payment-system-caroupay/
ShopBack’s $80 Million Series F Financing
August 3, 2022 Martina Bellini
Asia Partners led the $80 million Series F financing of ShopBack, a Singapore-based shopping and rewards platform. The company plans to use the new capital to develop innovative products for users and merchant partners, deepen its presence across the Asia Pacific and build capabilities for public market readiness.
Established in 2014, ShopBack currently serves over 35 million shoppers across ten markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
https://globallegalchronicle.com/...ks-80-million-series-f-financing/
June 17, 2022 - Friday 2:06 PM by RYAN LOUIS MANTILLA
Switching up your wardrobe has never been easier with the emergence of online fashion merchants. Nothing beats shopping from the convenience of one's own home. Of course, discounts and attractive deals make it easier to bring your fashion boards to life.
As luck would have it, SHEIN teamed up with ShopBack, one of Asia-Pacific's popular shopping and rewards platforms. For that reason, customers may expect a rewarding shopping experience with up to 20% cashback during ShopBack and SHEIN’s partnership.
https://globaldailymirror.com/Web/full_article/...s-new-partner-22402
Rimon hat Rakuten Viber bei der Umsetzung ihrer „Super-App“ beraten
Rakuten Viber, ein weltweit führender Anbieter von privatem und sicherem Messaging und sprachbasierter Kommunikation, expandiert in den digitalen Zahlungsverkehr. Mit der Einführung seiner neuen, grenzüberschreitenden Zahlungslösung erreicht Viber den Status einer „Super-App“. So ermöglicht der Messenger-Dienst seinen Kunden, sich gegenseitig sicher und digital Gelder zu schicken.
„Rakuten Viber ist bereits einer der weltweit führenden Messenger, mit Fintech-Fähigkeiten wird Viber seinen Nutzen und Wert erweitern, und zu einer absolut unverzichtbaren App für Hunderte von Millionen Nutzern werden. Nutzerfreundliche Zahlungsfunktionen ermöglichen es, sich mühelos innerhalb und über Grenzen hinweg zu verbinden, zu engagieren und Transaktionen durchzuführen, ohne jemals die bevorzugte Messaging-Plattform verlassen zu müssen“, sagt Ofir Eyal, CEO von Rakuten Viber.
“Wir freuen uns, Viber Pay nach Deutschland zu bringen. Die Beauftragung von Rimon, um sicherzustellen, dass die rechtlichen Vorbereitungen reibungslos verlaufen und unsere Compliance hervorragend ist, war eine großartige Erfahrung", sagt Idit Arad, General Counsel bei Rakuten Viber.
„Wir stehen Rakuten Viber bei der Markteinführung ihrer Super-App zur Seite. Es gab viele Versuche, eine Super App für die westliche Hemisphäre zu entwickeln – Viber ist das erste Unternehmen, das erfolgreich einen großen Kundenstamm auf eine vollständig integrierte App bringen wird. Eine Vision wird Wirklichkeit“, sagt Bernd Geier, Partner bei Rimon und Professor an der SRH Hochschule Heidelberg.
Mehr dazu hier in der Börsen-Zeitung und bei TechCrunch (EN)
https://www.rimonlaw.de/news/insights/artikel/...ihrer-super-app.html
The first thing I wanted to do is to change the paradigm of having thousands of disaggregated toolsets to manage a network into a consolidated platform. It was an idea that I couldn’t drive in Jio. I will tell you why that is even more important than Open RAN. These building blocks are for new architecture, the next generation of OSS.
If we build these operation platforms on a new modern architecture that supports real-time telemetry, the idea is to get real-time information about every element and node that you have into your network. Being able to correlate them and apply AI machine learning on top of them requires modern-age platforms. It is so critical to my dream.
Our success will not be celebrated because of Open RAN, but the grander vision of having Rakuten talked about as a company that does what Tesla has done for the electric industry in terms of autonomy. Autonomy in mobile networks is an absolutely amazing opportunity to build a resilient and reliable network that has better security architecture and does not need the complexity of the way we run and manage networks today.
https://www.theverge.com/23297756/...e-ceo-oran-cloud-network-decoder
Kobo Books is a decent alternative to Audible if you want a monthly-credit subscription. Kobo’s premium plan buys you any title in the library but for about five dollars less than Audible’s offering.
However, Kobo Books doesn’t have a catalog of thousands of included titles like Audible does. And while you can find most audiobooks from mainstream publishers in the Kobo store, the service has no original content and no audiobooks exclusive to the service.
The app’s interface is simple, manageable, and easily divided between ebooks and audiobooks. Titles in your library are efficiently organized, managed, and sorted. Plus, the player screen is the simplest of all the audiobook apps in this article.
Kobo’s reading statistics are superior to Audible’s. They give you a far more drilled-down look at what you’ve read, how much you’ve read, how many books you’ve completed, how far you are on each title, and overall averages on all the media in the app, not just audiobooks.
One of the annoying things about Kobo is that you can’t purchase audiobooks through the iOS app, even with credits. So, iPhone users need to log into the Kobo website, do your shopping there, and come back to the app when you’ve finished.
https://www.reviewgeek.com/125142/...bo%2520Books,-Danny%2520Chadwick
Investors can now exchange funds seamlessly between Ringgit and US Dollars via the iSpeed.my app and web platform. Conversions happen in real-time, at competitive rates that are usually better than most banks, and with no additional exchange rate fees charged for trading between currencies.
Kazumasa Mise, CEO of Rakuten Trade, said nearly 25,000 US trading accounts have been activated through Rakuten Trade since Rakuten Trade first launched the service in January. It has also served as a catalyst for new investors to test trading strategies on Bursa Malaysia before diversifying into the US markets.
As of July 31, 2022, Rakuten Trade had activated more than 250,000 trading accounts and transacted a total trading value of more than RM105 billion on Bursa Malaysia since the first business day, while the assets held in trust by its clients were nearly RM3.5 billion.
https://europa.duhuta.com/...-service-with-foreign-currency-facility/
This is exciting – but it does mean that MNOs will also have to adapt to support multiple RAN partners, instead of the traditional one or two. Quite apart from what that means from a commercial perspective, it has significant implications from an operational view.
A term that’s widely used in the industry is agnosticism. We often talk about how solutions are protocol agnostic, for example – which simply means they can connect on any suitable interface for the task in hand. To make the most of Open RAN and to ensure that, not only can new Open RAN solutions be deployed alongside traditional ones (which will be around for a long time to come), but that they can also pick and choose vendors as they like, MNOs will need to become agnostic to different RAN products. That’s a huge task.
We’re essentially saying that MNOs need to build an operational environment into which any RAN – open or otherwise – can be seamlessly deployed into their networks and integrated with their operational systems. To achieve this will require a radical shift from current approaches and a more flexible OSS.
This problem is gaining recognition, as our recent white paper made clear. In “Open RAN automation – how to ensure compatibility with your evolving network”, we outlined the challenges of aligning new, Open RAN investments with existing and traditional RAN solutions, highlighting some key use cases that must be addressed to ensure compatibility.
At present, many trials are based on the introduction of a new, single vendor for Open RAN. From these, we’re learning how to solve the first challenge – how Open RAN and proprietary solutions can co-exist successfully. So, we already know how to include Open RAN alongside existing solutions.
https://futurenetworld.net/intelligent-oss/...es-to-overcome/2022/05/
Rakuten buys OSS startup Innoeye with more than 500 employees
By Linda Hardesty May 13, 2020 11:56am
https://www.fiercewireless.com/operators/...e-more-than-500-employees
COUNTRY, TERRITORY & DISTRICT - WINNERS
Bangladesh Mutual: Trust Bank
China: ICBC
Hong Kong: Citi
Indonesia: UOB Digital Bank
Japan: Rakuten Bank
Malaysia: Maybank
Mongolia: Golomt Bank
Singapore: DBS
Sri Lanka: HSBC
Taiwan: Taishin Bank
Thailand: KASIKORNBANK
Vietnam: Techcomban
https://d2tyltutevw8th.cloudfront.net/media/...onsumer-1660753481.pdf
Looking towards 2023 what are the top goals and how are they going to contribute to the success of Rakuten Mobile?
The first step is to have 100% coverage in Japan both in terms of population and area. While at present we have 97% population coverage in Japan, one of our initiatives towards making this a reality is our investment in AST SpaceMobile, which is a satellite company. This will help support mission-critical use-cases, rural connectivity, and overall coverage enhancement in metropolitans. Next is the 5G expansion followed by further cloudification, better utilization of the transport network and more focus on enterprise and business customers.
The success that was achieved by Rakuten Mobile in Japan is now being made ‘generally available’ for greenfield and brownfield operators globally with Rakuten Symphony. This network transformation will enable service providers globally to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a cost-effective and timely manner, without compromising network quality and security.
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...net-way-rakuten-symphony-webinar
Xavier Kong · 25 Aug 2022 · 1 min read
Korean jewelry ecommerce firm bags additional $6m in series B
https://www.techinasia.com/...e-platform-secures-additional-6m-series
Rakuten Bank's total assets 2013-2022
Published by Statista Research Department, May 30, 2022
As of March 2022, the total assets of Rakuten Bank, Ltd. amounted to around 9.49 trillion Japanese yen. Compared to the previous year, the bank's total assets increased by 46.3 percent.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1309989/rakuten-bank-total-assets/
Net value of Rakuten bank is about $ 1.33 billion. If Rakuten Bank was valued like the Kakao Bank (today) with 2.31 price/book value the valuation would be $ 3.06 billion.
https://www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/english/images/news-220513.pdf
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/323410.KS/key-statistics/
- Activation of the first live Open RAN macro-sites in the Virgin Media O2 commercial network -
London/Tokyo, August 30th, 2022 — new windowVirgin Media O2, NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) and Rakuten Symphony have announced their joint multi-vendor Open RAN deployment is entering the field phase, commencing with the activation of the first live sites in Virgin Media O2's commercial network. This successful multi-vendor Open RAN system deployment on macro-sites in the UK is notable for being in a brownfield network and baselined on the existing Telco Cloud supply chain to maximise future synergies. Based in the Northamptonshire region, the system highlights the mobile operator, NEC and Rakuten Symphony's commitment to driving Open RAN innovation in the mobile industry.
Following a successful Open RAN lab trial on Virgin Media O2's network with NEC, Rakuten Symphony and ecosystem partners last year, the field deployment is now operational to handle commercial traffic. NEC's world-class system integration capabilities and fully open end-to-end solution, combined with Rakuten Symphony's Open RAN software, edge cloud, and radio management and operations system, ensured the activation of the UK macro-sites while delivering vendor diversity and innovation.
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202208/global_20220830_01.html
I believe this positive news to Rakuten Symphony was the reson for dirty falsifications and fakes about the CEO Mikitani and Rakuten in the Financial Times, who were paid after my estimates from competitors – shame for such criminal liars
By Sue Marek Aug 30, 2022 11:45am
UK operator Virgin Media O2 activated open RAN technology in macro sites in its network in the Northamptonshire region. The operator worked on the multi-vendor open RAN deployment with NEC and Rakuten Symphony and is using its existing telco cloud supply chain. Virgin Media O2 said that these open RAN sites in its network are able to handle commercial traffic.
This commercial deployment comes after the three companies conducted an open RAN lab trial last year in which Virgin Media O2 used NEC for systems integration, and Rakuten Symphony provided the open RAN software, edge cloud and radio management and operations system.
“The successful activation of Virgin Media O2’s first UK macro-sites demonstrates the potential of the multi-vendor Open RAN model,” said Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2 in a statement.
https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/...multi-vendor-open-ran-deployment
“The successful activation of Virgin Media O2’s first UK macro-sites demonstrates the potential of the multi-vendor Open RAN model,” said Virgin Media O2 chief technology officer Jeanie York.
“We are strong believers in the power of diverse Open RAN ecosystems, and in NEC, we have a partner that really shares our view. Its industry-leading system integration capabilities are integral in helping us deliver the mobile networks of the future, today.”
NEC’s senior vice-president, Mayuko Tatewaki, said: “NEC is true to its mission to deliver the most open Open RAN solutions to the telecoms and mobile industries.
“We have great synergy with Virgin Media O2 in this respect and the company is a true leader in progressing Open RAN in the UK. The activation of the UK macro-sites together, in partnership with Rakuten Symphony and an ecosystem of industry leaders, showcases the potential of a fully open network. We’re excited to be driving this innovative project that brings us a step closer to realising our multi-vendor Open RAN vision.”
Rakuten Symphony chief business officer Rabih Dabboussi said: “Rakuten Symphony and NEC have complementary solutions providing advanced and highly automated Open RAN, edge cloud and proven operational systems, and this deployment in the UK for Virgin Media O2 demonstrates innovation and technology leadership by the mobile operator.
“Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN software, combined with NEC’s world-class radios and system integration capabilities, validates the transformative potential that Open RAN technology brings to the industry.”
https://ihowtoarticle.com/...ony-drive-multi-supplier-open-ran-in-uk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMhatE_k8dI
Aug 17, 2022
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/open-ran/...sed-5g-fwa-tests-45186/
Rakuten Group Inc. announced on Wednesday it has reached an agreement to export its 5G telecommunications technology to German wireless carrier 1&1 in a deal valued at over $2 billion.
According to a report published by the Nikkei, Rakuten is expected to obtain between $2.29 billion and $2.74 billion over the next decade in a deal that will provide 1$1 with Rakuten's full virtual network technology.
https://www.teletrader.com/...6139736?internal=1&ts=1661927007545
Rakuten Capital Exits
Company Name Exit Date
Coda Payments 14-Apr-2022
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/166304-08#investments
1 Nutzer wurde vom Verfasser von der Diskussion ausgeschlossen: Scansoft