Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
Growth stage: late growth
Ownership: private equity, venture capital
Firm valuation: $456m - $684m (Dealroom.co estimates May 2019.)
Investors
Tech Mahindra
SERIES C, GROWTH EQUITY
Cisco Investments
LATE VC
Excelestar Ventures
LATE VC
Qualcomm Ventures
SERIES C
Rakuten
SERIES C
Telefónica Innovation Ventures
SERIES C
https://app.dealroom.co/companies/altiostar_networks
Rakuten Completes Investment in Altiostar
Tokyo, Japan, May 7, 2019 – Rakuten, Inc., a leading global innovation company in e-commerce, communications and fintech, and soon to be the operator of Japan’s newest and most innovative mobile network, today announced that it has received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to complete its investment in the US-based mobile technology company, Altiostar Networks, Inc.
In line with the completion of the investment, Rakuten and Altiostar will embark on a strategic alliance to accelerate deployment of Altiostar’s virtual Radio Access Network solutions for 4G and 5G and drive the telecommunications industry paradigm shift to web-scale cloud native mobile networks.
Rakuten Mobile President, Yoshihisa Yamada, and Chief Technology Officer, Tareq Amin, will join the board of directors of Altiostar.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2019/0507_03.html
Open virtualized radio access network (vRAN) technology provider Altiostar closed a $114 million Series C funding round that included participation from Rakuten, Qualcomm Ventures, and Tech Mahindra. The company says it will use the funding to expand its vRAN product for operator’s 4G LTE and 5G end-to-end webscale cloud native networks.
The vRAN vendor was founded by former Starent Networks founder and CEO Ashraf Dahod in 2011. Dahod served as the CEO of Starent through its 2007 IPO and subsequent $2.9 billion acquisition by Cisco in 2009. Cisco was an initial investor and backer in Altiostar. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised more than $211 million to date.
https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...m-tech-machindra/2019/05/
SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Medical, Inc. (RMI) a clinical-stage, global biotechnology company developing precision-targeted cancer therapies based on its proprietary, anti-cancer treatment platform, Illuminox™, will present at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference being held January 13-16, 2020, in San Francisco.
The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry, bringing together industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators and members of the investment community.
About Rakuten Medical
Rakuten Medical, Inc. (Rakuten Medical) is a privately funded, clinical-stage biotechnology company with offices in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, Germany and the Netherlands. Rakuten Medical aims to become a leader in precision-targeted medicines through Illuminox™, its proprietary, anti-cancer treatment platform. Rakuten Medical's lead product, ASP-1929, the first investigational product based on Illuminox, has achieved Fast Track designation from both the FDA and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. ASP-1929 is currently the subject of a global, Phase 3 clinical trial for recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Additional Phase 2 studies for ASP-1929 are also underway to evaluate safety in patients with other types of cancer.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...conference-300985043.html
The Careem investors set to share in the $3.1bn Uber windfall
Since the original founders let in institutional investors in 2013, Careem has raised $771m from them and now these backers are set to reap the rewards of their faith in the ride-hailing technology platform
Uber Technologies has agreed to buy Careem in a $3.1 billion (Dh11.39bn) deal that is the largest technology sector transaction in the Middle East so far, eclipsing Amazon’s $580 million acquisition of Souq in 2017.
Since the original founders Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson let in institutional investors in 2013, Careem has raised $771m from the likes of Mercedes-Benz's parent Daimler, Japan’s Rakuten, Saudi Arabia’s Al Tayyar Group and a number of venture capital funds from the region, Silicon Valley and elsewhere.
They will all now share in the windfall from the sale of the business to Uber, in accordance with their respective holdings.
A valuation on Careem of above $3bn also represents the creation of immense shareholder value since it was formed in 2012.
Saudi Arabia's Al Tayyar Travel Group is the largest corporate shareholder, having got involved back in 2014. On Tuesday, Al Tayyar said its exit value is 1.78bn Saudi riyals (Dh1.74bn).
https://www.thenational.ae/business/...-windfall-in-pictures-1.841567
https://sifted.eu/european-startups-top-rankings/
Example – Rakuten Mobile Network Cisco Providing Telco Cloud with NFVI+MANO, WAN, Telco DC, vEPC and SI Services
Fully Virtualized from RAN to Core, Edge Computing, Software Defined Mobile Operator
Japanisch, Chinesisch und Koreanisch sind trotz ihres hohen Schwierigkeitsgrads beliebte Fremdsprachen. Das liegt auch an dem steigenden Interesse für die asiatische Gesellschaft und Popkultur. Animes, Mangas, Popmusik oder die asiatische Küche sind für viele von Hobbys zur wahren Leidenschaft geworden. Universitäten bestätigen ebenfalls ein wachsendes Interesse für japanische, koreanische oder chinesische Sprachstudiengänge. Aber welche Möglichkeiten gibt es, den eigentlichen Lernprozess zu beschleunigen? Eine Studie vom Max-Planck-Institut hatte bereits 2009 herausgefunden, dass Film-Untertitel erheblich dabei helfen, die Sprache, die der Zuschauer hört, zu erlernen. Rakuten Viki macht es möglich TV-Serien im koreanischen, chinesischen oder japanischen Original zu sehen und die jeweilige Sprache mit Hilfe der Untertitel online zu lernen. Sicher, auf manchen Pfaden des Internets ist es bereits möglich Serien in allen möglichen Sprachen oder Untertiteln zu sehen, aber Viki bietet spezielle Tools an, um den Lerneffekt zu unterstützen.
https://www.rakuten.de/insight/rakuten-viki
https://www.infotaxi.net/...ify-sin-su-ansiada-ampliacion-de-capital/
Die in der Adresse angesprochene Zurückhaltung von Rakuten erkläre ich damit, dass m.E. Rakuten nicht eine rasche Expansion und einen Börsengang im Auge hat, sondern eine Fusion bzw. eine Zusammenarbeit mit Lyft, wo Rakuten ebenfalls der größte Eigner ist. Auf keinen Fall will Rakuten aber aus diesen Gründen einen Rückgang seiner Beteiligungsquote hinnehmen, da dies seine Pläne gefährdet. Vielleicht ändert sich das, wenn der Verkaufsanteil von ca. 300 Millionen aus dem Verkauf von Careem geflossen sind.
by Kelly Earley
28 NOV 2019
Carousell
Carousell is an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace. Set up in 2012 by Lucas Ngoo, Marcus Tan Yi Wei and Quek Siu Rui, the company has raised around $182.8m to date for its iOS and Android marketplace, which has been ranked as the top shopping app in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.
Backed by Sequoia Capital and OLX Group, the company appears to on its way to achieve unicorn status – after merging with Telenor Group, the business is now valued at $850m.
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/...tups-worth-watching-2020
Besides Telenor, Carousell has been backed by other investors such as OLX, Naspers, Rakuten Ventures, EDBI, Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures and DBS.
https://www.businessinsider.sg/...on-thanks-to-merger-with-701search/
The online marketplace, founded in Singapore in 2012, agreed to merge with a subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications firm Telenor Group in late November. The combined company is now a step closer to unicorn status, having been valued at more than $850 million.
Carousell will absorb Telenor’s 701Search, which owns online marketplaces Mudah in Malaysia, Cho Tot in Vietnam, and OneKyat in Myanmar. This adds Vietnam and Myanmar to Carousell’s current markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Carousell was valued at more than US$550 million in April, when South African e-commerce group Naspers bought a stake in the company. Its previous backers include venture capital firms Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia Capital, 500 start-ups and Golden Gate Ventures.
https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/...sell-youtrip-sensetime
by Kelly Earley
28 NOV 2019
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/...tups-worth-watching-2020
Coda Payments
Coda Payments is a fintech start-up that is looking to address the fact 80pc of people living in emerging markets don’t have credit cards. To help businesses collect more online payments, Coda integrates more than 100 payment methods, providing alternative options to people who don’t have credit or debit cards. These options include e-wallets, bank transfers and paying from convenience stores.
The company has partnered with brands such as Three Indonesia, 7-Eleven, PayTM, Santander and Tesco Lotus to help provide these services. Founded in 2011 by Bobby Choi, Neil Davidson and Paul Leishman, the business has raised around $25.3m to date.
As well as its payments service, Codapay, its offers another service, Codashop, that helps digital content providers such as Netflix, Tencent and Garena to monetise games and streaming services in emerging markets.
Having been shortlisted for 11 IPMAs, the Rakuten Marketing team walked home with four awards from the ceremony held last night (21 October 2019) at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London:
• Best Affiliate Network
• Best Performance Marketing Campaign APAC – in partnership with AMEX Korea and MATCHESFASHION.COM
• Best Retail Campaign – in partnership with AMEX Korea and MATCHESFASHION.COM
• Best Team in Performance Marketing
Rakuten Marketing’s partnership with MATCHESFASHION.COM and AMEX Korea resulted in two impressive award wins: Best Retail Campaign and Best Performance Marketing Campaign APAC. For Best Retail Campaign, judges recognised the innovative global and cross-channel initiative for its use of influencer marketing, device-focus and social media, which led to sales in over 160 countries.
https://blog.rakutenmarketing.com/de-de/...iate-network-at-the-ipmas/
"Our story began when I talked to Adam at a meeting," Mikitani said. "The NBA will find big opportunities in Japan."
It already has.
The Rockets and last season's champion Toronto Raptors played two preseason games on the outskirts of Tokyo on Oct. 8 and 10. Even though the games did not count, each one attracted more than 20,000 spectators.
Now that the season is underway in the U.S., Rakuten's streaming service is apparently thriving. The company does not disclose the number of subscriptions, but one estimate suggests it has increased by a factor of seven, compared with previous years.
Rakuten's new smartphone streaming app and increased NBA content have helped drum up interest. But the rookie Hachimura may be the biggest driving force. The first Japanese player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft has fit right in, averaging around 14 points and 6 rebounds per game through mid-December and providing a steady stream of highlight-reel dunks.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/...dia-just-as-it-stumbles-in-China2
Mit dem Launch der neuen Programmerweiterung erhalten Kunden Zugriff auf internationale sowie nationale Filme. In den kommenden Monaten soll der Umfang des Angebots sowohl um lineares als auch On-Demand-Programm erweitert werden. Dazu zählen exklusive Inhalte von Rakuten, Serien, Dokus, News und Sport. Die kostenlosen, werbefinanzierten Kanäle bauen somit das bisherige Angebot von Rakuten TV – Dein Kino zu Hause aus. Dies gewährt Besitzern von Smart TVs Zugang zu aktuellen Filmen in hochwertiger audiovisueller Qualität.
Unter anderem wird Rakuten TV die exklusive Dokumentation „Matchday – Inside FC Barcelona“ ausstrahlen. Die Dokuserie zeigt den FC Barcelona hinter den Kulissen und liefert exklusives Filmmaterial aus dem Leben der Spieler. Für die Hintergrunderzählung lieh John Malkovich seine Stimme. „Matchday – Inside FC Barcelona“ ist eine Produktion von FC Barcelonas hauseigenen Barça Studios in Zusammenarbeit mit Kosmos Studios, Rakuten Inc., Rakuten H Collective Studio und Producciones del Barrio. Über Rakutens Instant Messaging Service Rakuten Viber soll die Community, die aus 2 Millionen Barça Fans besteht, aufgerufen werden, allen von „Matchday“ zu erzählen.
https://rakutenmarketing.com/de-de/...s-neuen-avod-service-in-europa/
Sutter Health partnering with Lyft to pay for patient rides
Sutter Health is launching a partnership with the ride-hailing service Lyft Inc. for both patient and employee transportation.
Under the program, which began Monday, Sutter will pay for the rides of patients who have recently been discharged from the hospital and need transportation home. Sutter employees who want to use Lyft to travel short distances from transit stations to work and home health workers who need transportation to a patient’s home may also be eligible for the program.
Sutter's recently signed agreement with Lyft (Nasdaq: LYFT) will allow individual hospitals and clinics to opt into the program. The program would see individual hospitals and locations foot the bill for Lyft's services. Sacramento-based Sutter, which has 24 hospitals and about 250 care centers, did not immediately have details on which locations would be participating in the program.
During a pilot for the new program, Sutter found that it could decrease the amount of time it took to discharge a patient from the emergency room from an average of 23 minutes to three minutes at its California Pacific Medical Center, Pacific Campus in San Francisco. Switching to Lyft rides was also a quarter of the cost of the transportation services the medical center had previously been using, according to Sutter.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/...oo&yptr=yahoo
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Wertpapier: Rakuten Group Inc |
In der Zeit sind die Märkte in einer echten Hausse und so mancher hat sein Vermögen mit den richtigen Aktien vervielfacht, Rakuten hingegen ein Total Flop.
Congrats,das muß man erst mal schaffen !
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Wertpapier: Rakuten Group Inc |
Das kurze Aufzucken im Chart war der Hoffnung auf Lyft geschuldet, doch auch dieses IPO ging richtig in die Hose.
Statt in der Euphorie die Beteiligung wenigstens teilweise zu verkaufen,hat Rakuten seinen Anteil gehalten,entsprechend bricht der Kurs wieder ein,denn ob Lyft je profitabel sein wird ist mehr als fraglich. Weiterhin werden Riesenverluste geschrieben und das Geschäftsmodell ist alles andere als das was man sich unter Mobilität der Zukunft vorstellt.
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Wertpapier: Rakuten Group Inc |
Angehängte Grafik:
chart_3years_rakuten.png (verkleinert auf 54%)
chart_3years_rakuten.png (verkleinert auf 54%)
Rakuten is a well-diversified blue-chip conglomerate with tentacles throughout Japan and has plenty of running room for international expansion. Its loyalty membership program is more than 100 million strong and it is Japan’s #1 Internet bank, #1 credit card and one of the country’s leading travel platforms.
Rakuten (RKUNY) is the 7th most visited website in Japan with 490 million visitors in September with an average length of visit of over six minutes. The company’s core business is as an Internet sales platform akin to Amazon (AMZN) with its market share in Japan at about 25%.
Rakuten is also launching a 5G network in the first half of 2020. It already has a large number of e-commerce cloud sites built with high-speed fiber connections in Japan.
This offers the firm natural expansion capabilities into virtual mobile networks and 5G. If successful, this investment will put the company in a strong position in Japanese telecoms.
Rakuten is a growth conglomerate with multiple drivers and a sterling balance sheet. And the stock is trading at just ten times trailing earnings, booked a 16% increase in revenue during its latest quarter, and offers an impressive 19% return on equity.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...s-2020-rakuten-rkuny-100000690.html
Uber Completes Acquisition of Careem
Nachrichtenquelle: Business Wire (engl.) | 03.01.2020
Uber (NYSE: UBER) today confirmed the official close of the previously announced acquisition of Careem for $3.1 billion. Careem Networks FZ-LLC has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, preserving its brand. Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha will continue to lead the Careem business, which will report to a board made up of three representatives from Uber and two representatives from Careem. Careem and Uber will operate their respective regional services and independent brands.
With the closing of the deal, Uber has acquired Careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The regulatory approval process in Pakistan, Qatar, and Morocco is ongoing and the transaction will not close in these territories until approvals from the legal authorities responsible are obtained.
https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/...s-acquisition-of-careem
https://cedcommerce.com/blog/sell-on-rakuten-guide-2020/
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese online retailer Rakuten <4755.T> and Walmart's Seiyu said they plan to open a new logistics site in Yokohama later this year to deal with growing sales from their joint online supermarket business.
Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper's sales between late October through the end of December rose 30% from a year earlier, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Internet grocery shopping has been slow to take off in Japan, where consumers are accustomed to shopping daily for fresh produce. But Seiyu and bigger rival Aeon Co <8267.T> expect change ahead due to growing numbers of working women, and advancements in technology and logistics networks.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...-marketing-affiliate-110500445.html
SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Marketing today announced that Purple, a growing direct-to-consumer comfort product company, has selected Rakuten Marketing to drive its affiliate marketing strategy across the customer journey. Rakuten Marketing's unique offering will allow the team at Purple to focus on the company's rapid growth opportunity, while experts at Rakuten Marketing help develop Purple's affiliate marketing program to best meet its business goals.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, Rakuten Marketing will help Purple achieve its affiliate marketing goals, including building first touch and last touch commission structures depending on the publisher's position in the shopper's journey. Through the partnership, Purple will leverage Rakuten Marketing's industry-leading affiliate marketing network, which has been voted the #1 affiliate network for eight consecutive years by mThink and recognized as the Best Affiliate Network, among other recognitions, by the International Performance Marketing Awards.
https://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien
Edge computing, which brings computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed thereby improving response times and saving bandwidth, will impact every internet user in the world as it becomes the way the internet works behind the scenes.
Offering a faster solution for smart devices, edge computing is a next generation model that will revolutionise the way society uses the internet.
Dr Blesson Varghese, Lecturer in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) at Queen’s explained: “Currently, processing of all data we generate usually happens on geographically distant clouds.
“As billions of devices are getting connected to the internet, we need more sustainable and scalable architectures for computing. They must not solely rely on distant centralised clouds.
“Edge computing will bring certain services of applications closer to the users on the edge of the network. This will make applications more responsive and reduce bandwidth demand in the network core.”
The key mission of the project is to make edge computing a reality.
https://daro.qub.ac.uk/...Rakuten-Mobile-to-set-up-edge-computing-hub