Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Open RAN: From Greenfield Deployment to Beyond 5G Evolution

31.03.2026 At the Rakuten Booth during #mwc26, Rakuten Symphony leaders were joined by executives from Nubicom and Tejas Networks as they discussed the larger impact of Open RAN on global economies. Osmar Coronel, CEO of Nubicom Paraguay shared how Open RAN led to reduction of cost and eventually an increase in the company's GDP while Dr. Kumar, Co-Founder and CTO of Tejas Network stated his expectations from 6G and the role of Open RAN to deliver ubiquitous connectivity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwgpFemmvJs

Rakuten Mobile Netcracker Deal Aims To Sharpen 5G Economics For Investors

Rakuten Mobile expanded its partnership with Netcracker Technology to advance its AI enabled, cloud native BSS platform and managed services.

The collaboration supports nationwide 4G and 5G coverage in Japan and aims to improve digital customer experiences and operational efficiency.

This development is material for Rakuten Group (TSE:4755), as Rakuten Mobile is a major growth driver within the broader group.

This extended partnership could influence how quickly Rakuten Group (TSE:4755) brings new mobile services and pricing models to market across Japan. It may also be relevant for how investors think about the group’s long term position in Japanese telecoms, particularly around digital service quality, automation and the ability to support a wider range of 4G and 5G use cases.

Price vs Analyst Target: At ¥724.7 versus a consensus target of ¥1,006.2, the price sits about 28% below analyst expectations.

Simply Wall St Valuation: Shares are flagged as undervalued, trading at roughly 83.7% below the platform's estimated fair value.

The Netcracker expansion supports Rakuten Mobile's AI enabled, cloud native operations, which sit at the heart of how the group delivers and bills for 4G and 5G services.

Watch execution on service quality, customer growth and cost efficiency within the mobile segment, as these will indicate whether the upgraded BSS platform is translating into better economics.
Integration risk around new software platforms can affect service reliability, which may influence customer satisfaction and cash generation if not carefully managed.

simplywall.st/stocks/jp/retail/tse-4755/...arpen-5g-economics

Grow ARPU with the Rakuten Ecosystem

Rakuten brings a services ecosystem that can help regional carriers become more competitive and unlock new sources of revenue. This ecosystem features more than 70 member-based services that carriers can offer to their subscribers.

These services represent a business model shift that creates customer value and helps increase ARPU. Here are some statistics from Rakuten Mobile’s experience in Japan:

Subscribers participate in an average of 2.45 more services than non-members.

Ecosystem services account for nearly half of Rakuten Mobile’s total ARPU, in addition to core telecom revenue.

Rakuten Mobile generates approximately 50% additional revenue from non-connectivity services, with engagement and lifetime value increasing as subscriber tenure grows.

See It Live. Ask the Experts. Booth #109

We invite you to be part of this transformation journey. Experience our demo solutions, hear from our experts and explore the possibilities of the ecosystem and intelligent operations.

In addition, we’ll review how an open, automated and cloud-native approach is emerging as the future of mobile networks and offers great flexibility and cost effectiveness for network edge applications and deploying new services. Our experts will be in the booth ready to answer your questions.

As recently announced, TM Forum has formally validated Rakuten Mobile at Level 4 autonomy for RAN energy efficiency on a live, at-scale Open RAN network in Japan.  The operator has achieved approximately 20% RAN energy conservation delivered through AI-driven closed-loop control.  We will be discussing with attendees how this type of automation can best be applied to their networks.
Experience intelligence and ecosystem live at our seminar

Rakuten Symphony experts, along with our partners and customers, will join a panel to bring these themes to life.

SAVE THE DATE

Session: Zero-Touch Networks, Real Results: Driving Efficiency, Revenue, and Loyalty with AI & Open Ecosystems

Date & Time: April 15, 3pm

Location: Louisville Marriott Downtown 280 West Jefferson Street Louisville, KY
The panel explores how competitive carriers can leverage AI-driven, zero-touch operations powered by cloud and open ecosystems to do more with less. Discussion will focus on improving operational efficiency, unlocking new revenue streams, and strengthening customer loyalty through ecosystem partnerships and innovative loyalty programs.

Join us at CCA 2026, Booth #109, from April 14–16 to explore how our OSS, Cloud, Open RAN, and ecosystem solutions deliver carrier-grade reliability, enable AI-driven optimization, and help reduce energy consumption and OPEX to unlock new growth.

We look forward to seeing you in Louisville!

symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...ies-for-regional-mobile-carriers

Giftify's CardCash Announces Distribution Partnership with Capital One Shopping, Expanding Platform to Tens of Millions of Consumers

Wed, April 1, 2026

SCHAUMBURG, IL, April 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giftify, Inc. (NASDAQ: GIFT) (the “Company”), the owner and operator of CardCash.com, Restaurant.com, and Takeout7.com, and a leader in the incentives and rewards industry, today announced a new distribution partnership between CardCash.com and Capital One Shopping, one of the most widely used consumer savings tools in the United States. The partnership, facilitated through the Rakuten affiliate network, launches April 1, 2026 and will surface CardCash's discounted gift card inventory to tens of millions of Capital One Shopping users at high-intent shopping moments.

The Capital One Shopping partnership comes at a moment of strength for CardCash's affiliate program. Powered by Rakuten, the affiliate channel is delivering strong year-over-year growth in both net sales and average order value in 2026, indicating that affiliate-referred buyers are not only arriving in greater numbers but spending more per transaction.

"The affiliate channel has earned its place as one of our core growth engines," said Tom Ochoa, Head of Sales and Business Development at CardCash. "Capital One Shopping is a major upgrade to that channel. We're not just adding a partner logo, we're adding a platform with tens of millions of active, savings-focused consumers who are already in the mindset to buy."

finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/...p-123000061.html

As of February 1, 2026

The more you use Rakuten Bank's services, the higher your savings interest rate will be!

This is a great interest rate preferential service that is more than twice the normal interest rate with the maximum interest rate applied.

www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/assets/fixeddep/...bonus-interest.html

Rakuten Symphony has developed what it calls the industry’s first NTN-specific OSS system to tackle some of these issues. The solution comes with dynamic topology awareness, real-time intelligence, and automated provisioning for improved monitoring and assurance of NTN networks. It includes a satellite-specific dashboard view that integrates with global databases, like the TLE (Two-Line Element) and SATCOM, to correlate satellite paths with terrestrial network services.

“This is the first time an OSS stack is being redesigned specifically for NTN,” Bhatt said. “We were able to do this because Rakuten Mobile required it, and our platform architecture was flexible enough to adapt its data model and inventory schema.”

Measuring real customer experience is just as important to assure NTN networks, and for that, Rakuten Symphony is using solar-powered probe boxes to keep the standards handsets working around the clock in remote locations where power supply is often inconsistent.

The company currently has its architecture deployed in eight regions globally to adapt to regional regulatory requirements, Bhatt said.

The solution is deployed in-house at Rakuten Mobile, while the company is also working with operators and satellite providers in the geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite space, Bhatt said.

www.rcrwireless.com/20260331/...oss-for-the-4d-reality-of-ntn

Golden Week 2026: Is Your Mobile Plan Ready for the Crowds?

Golden Week puts Japanese mobile networks under pressure. Here's what to check on your plan before the holiday rush — and what to do if you're not covered.

Published March 30, 2026

www.japanmobileguide.com/blog/...-week-2026-mobile-plan-japan

Samsung secures Open RAN deal with Rakuten Mobile in Japan

March 03, 2026

Samsung Networks has secured a contract to provide its Open RAN 5G radios to Japanese telco Rakuten Mobile.

The announcement was one of many made by the Korean vendor during this week's Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona, Spain, as the company also announced separate virtualized RAN (vRAN) collaborations with Nvidia and Vodafone.

Samsung's deal with Rakuten will see the company support the carrier's nationwide mobile network rollout across Japan.

According to Samsung, the lightweight radios can be easily mounted on buildings and poles, enabling seamless installation and capacity enhancements in dense urban environments.

www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/...with-several-telcos-to/

Rakuten Cloud’s solution is built on Kubernetes. Kubernetes is a container-based solution that allows for the flexible deployment of applications on devices and in the cloud.

Artificial Intelligence: Intelligent Decision-Making

AI takes raw data from the field and uses it to create predictions. It then uses these predictions to make proactive decisions in real-time to achieve better results in the field.

What Sets Rakuten Symphony Apart

Rakuten Symphony has a unique advantage in the industry due to its expertise in creating cloud-native mobile networks. This expertise gives Rakuten Symphony a competitive advantage in the agricultural industry:

Cloud-Native by Design: A highly flexible system designed to meet the needs of any farm while offering edge computing capabilities.

Advanced AI Capabilities: AI plays a significant role in decision-making in the agricultural industry by using computer vision and machine learning algorithms.

Leadership in Private 5G: Rakuten Symphony has expertise in delivering high-performing networks in a highly open ecosystem.

Real-World Applications and Benefits

Rakuten Symphony’s platform has a range of applications in the agricultural industry:

Precision Irrigation: Real-time data is used to make optimal decisions regarding irrigation systems.

Early Disease and Pest Detection: AI is used in computer vision to detect diseases in crops early.Autonomous Equipment: Tractors and equipment are connected and can operate independently with minimal human intervention.

Livestock Monitoring: Wearables and sensors monitor the health of livestock.

These applications offer significant business benefits:

Reduced water and chemical consumption by optimizing resource management.

Increased crop yields by optimizing growing conditions.

Reduced costs by optimizing resource management and increasing efficiency.

Faster, better decision-making with real-time insights.

Seamless scalability across multiple farms and regions.

A Clear Advantage Over Traditional Approaches

The Rakuten Symphony solution has a significant advantage over traditional approaches to farming technologies:

Better than IoT + Cloud: Unlike traditional solutions, Rakuten does not depend on cloud processing, which is a delayed process. Rakuten provides edge inference, where decisions can be made within a matter of seconds.

Better than Wi-Fi and LoRa: Wi-Fi is not reliable, and LoRa cannot be used for high-bandwidth solutions. Rakuten provides a solution that has a strong range and can be utilized for a variety of solutions, from sensors to autonomous vehicles.

Better than a Fragmented Ecosystem: While Rakuten's competitors provide a number of tools, Rakuten provides a single solution that can handle multiple applications across a number of different environments.

The Future of Farming

Rakuten Symphony is building a distributed, real-time operating system for agriculture. We're bringing connectivity, compute, and intelligence together to allow a farm to optimize every aspect of its operations. Thus, we're providing a solution where Private 5G provides a backbone, Kubernetes provides scalability, and AI provides intelligence.  Contact us to schedule a technical discussion and meet us at the IT Summit Agro 2026 on April 8.

symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...symphonys-data-driven-revolution

ST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) Flies 10.3% Ahead of BlueBird 7 Launch

Fri, April 3, 2026

AST SpaceMobile extended its winning streak to a third straight session on Thursday, surging 10.28 percent to close at $92.62 apiece, as investors loaded portfolios ahead of the looming launch of its BlueBird 7.

In a social media post by Blue Origin, it said that AST SpaceMobile Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ASTS) next-generation BlueBird 7 satellite is targeted to take off no earlier than Friday, April 10.

BlueBird 7 is one of the two next-generation satellites, next to BlueBird 6. As compared with the latter, the former is nearly 2,400 square meters in size and 3.5 times bigger than BlueBirds 1 to 5. It also features the largest commercial communications array in low Earth orbit.

finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/...s-064126911.html

Audiences have grown more selective about paid subscriptions and more open to ad-supported viewing  as long as the exchange feels fair. The same study found that over three-quarters of viewers (76%) are happy or neutral about the volume of ads they encounter on FAST/AVOD platforms.
That represents a powerful shift in consumer mindset: ads are no longer the cost of interruption, but the cost of access: A trade audiences are comfortable making.

Meet the New TV Audience

FAST/AVOD also unlocks access to the viewers Linear has lost: the cord-cutters and cord-nevers.
Cord-cutters are those who once paid for traditional TV subscriptions but have since moved entirely to streaming.

Cord-nevers are younger audiences who never subscribed in the first place. Together, they represent a rapidly growing segment that Linear campaigns simply cannot reach.

These audiences are digitally native, open to discovery, and value-driven. They represent an opportunity for brands to build awareness and loyalty among demographics that are otherwise invisible in traditional campaign planning.

What It Means for Advertisers

For brands and agencies, the implications are clear:

FAST/AVOD delivers reliable reach at scale across platforms where audiences now spend their time.

It complements Linear TV rather than competes with it, helping extend total campaign coverage.

And perhaps most importantly, it provides a brand-safe, high-quality environment where ad receptivity remains strong.

FAST/AVOD has become more than a tactical buy – it’s a strategic bridge between traditional broadcast and the future of connected TV advertising.

Explore the Full Insights

This article draws on data from Rakuten TV’s Unlocking New Audiences research, based on a June 2025 survey of consumers across Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. The study explores attitudes and viewing behaviour across the TV and streaming landscape to uncover how audiences engage with FAST/AVOD, Linear TV, and SVOD services.

www.enterprise.rakuten.tv/insights/fast-avod-redefining-reach/

“We are seeing a shift beyond the act of simply ‘searching for what you need.’ We are seeing a new shopping experience driven by inspiration – where viewers want a product because it is recommended by a creator they love and trust.”” explained YouTube Japan Managing Director Naomi Yamakawa.

“When introducing products, creators pursue their personal passions and provide meticulous reviews in their own words – sometimes highlighting drawbacks alongside the benefits. Viewers respond to this sincerity, allowing them to make informed purchasing decisions with conviction.”

Through the partnership, Rakuten is connecting this audience with one of Japan’s largest online marketplaces, listing over 500 million products. But the partnership is about more than just Rakuten’s technical infrastructure; it’s connecting two platforms driven by storytelling.

Rakuten Executive Vice President Ryo Matsumura made a case for the multiplying effect such a fusion could bring.

“Rakuten Ichiba has over 50,000 merchants, and each one has a truly unique story,” he explained. “By multiplying these unique stories with the YouTube creator economy and the power and trust they have with their viewers, we can create a shopping experience entirely different from traditional e-commerce.”

The program leverages Rakuten’s existing frameworks such as Rakuten Affiliate and social commerce app ROOM, which make it easy for creators to monetize their passion while helping merchants reach new fans.

“We expect this to provide our merchants with even more opportunities for business growth, and deliver an even more fun and convenient shopping experience to our customers.”

Mikitani: Shopping is entertainment

But for storytelling to lead to sales, the technology needs to get out of the way. One strategic priority for both companies is eliminating friction: for a user to make a purchase, they need to first see the product, remember its name, open a new tab, and search for it on Rakuten Ichiba. Each step of this process carries a risk that they will lose interest.

“Being able to buy without friction is a vital point,” Mikitani emphasized. “Now, users can see something on YouTube and think, ‘This looks fun, I want it,’ and buy it immediately.”

Mikitani reflected on how the partnership is a modern realization of the philosophy he has held since founding Rakuten in 1997.

“Back then, we had very few products available, and I spent a lot of time thinking about how we could actually get things to sell,” he said. “The concept we came up with was that shopping is entertainment. The idea was that shopping shouldn’t be an inorganic experience where items are simply displayed for purchase. It should be fun; there should be communication.”

Mikitani believes that this creator-led model turns the tables on traditional branding, where only big-budget companies can dominate the market. He highlighted what he calls the grilled mackerel phenomenon on Rakuten Ichiba, where humble regional products often become unlikely hits, outperforming even global brands through organic interest.

“That has been the foundation of Rakuten Ichiba until now, and I believe it is a major point of differentiation between us and other shopping malls or Western e-commerce sites.”

One big challenge for smaller merchants has been expanding their reach beyond the confines of the Rakuten Ecosystem. This is something the new partnership could help address.

“Now, we have YouTube creators and influencers introducing these products. This builds trust, and creates a win-win-win relationship,” Mikitani remarked. “I think that’s what makes this a truly revolutionary partnership. YouTube and Rakuten are a perfect match, and I think this will expand Japanese shopping into an entirely different dimension.”

rakuten.today/blog/...-all-in-on-v-commerce-with-youtube.html

Rakuten: Value Hidden Behind A Telecom Overhang

Apr 02, 2026, 6:34 AM

Summary

Rakuten Group (RKUNY) leverages a synergistic ecosystem across fintech, internet services, and mobile, driving user stickiness and cross-selling opportunities.

Fintech is the primary profit engine, benefiting from Japan's cashless transition, regulatory support, and rising net interest margins, positioning RKUNY for robust growth.

Mobile segment remains a drag on profitability but shows inflection with subscriber growth, ARPU gains, and improved churn, supporting long-term ecosystem expansion.

Valuation multiples and SOTP analysis suggest RKUNY is underpriced, offering substantial upside despite persistent group-level losses and evolving liability structure.

seekingalpha.com/article/...-hidden-behind-a-telecom-overhang

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is the latest to adopt SpaceX’s broadband-to-satphone system, Starlink. SoftBank joins NTT Docomo and KDDI in supporting Starlink. These are three very large Japanese carriers and will – between them – supply coverage over mountainous regions, remote islands and during Japan’s ever-present natural disasters.

The trio will compete against one remaining telco which is aligned with AST SpaceMobile which is Rakuten Mobile. Rakuten’s agreement with AST is for exclusivity so the rival telcos could not tap into AST’s system, which will launch later this year. Rakuten, to date, is the fastest-growing Japanese telco.

www.advanced-television.com/2026/04/06/...ftbank-smartphones/

Growing the Single-IP Universe

Rakuten TV continued to build value for studios and distributors through curated single-IP channels designed to maximise engagement. Some of the highlights include:

Alerta Cobra, available in Italy and Spain

Gipsy Kings, in Spain

Abschnitt 40, extending our partnership in German-speaking markets

With these launches,  Rakuten TV now operates over 120 O&O FAST channels,  further reinforcing our leadership in the European FAST space.

New FAST Channels from Content Owners

In addition to the 170 third-party channels launched on Rakuten TV in 2025, this year also saw the launches of exciting channels built by Rakuten TV Enterprise for our content partners, including:

Reframed’s  Cesar’s Pack Leader TV  in UK, Nordics and Netherlands

Rive Gauche’s  Aftershock Real Crime  and  Aftershock My Strange Addiction  in UK, Nordics and Netherlands

ACE’s  Shark TV  in France

These launches highlight Rakuten TV’s ability to support partners end to end, from channel creation and packaging to distribution and monetisation, helping content owners unlock new value from their catalogues with a FAST strategy tailored to European audiences.

Strengthening Studio Partnerships Across Europe

We welcomed new collaborations with major and boutique studios alike, including Mattel across Europe and expanded partnerships with DeAPlaneta, Planeta Junior in Spain, and Eagle Pictures in Italy.

This growth reflects our commitment to sourcing high-quality content while supporting local studios with meaningful distribution and monetisation.

AVOD: A More Premium Experience Than Ever with 4K

For the first time, Rakuten TV introduced 4K content within the AVOD catalogue, raising the bar for free streaming in Europe and offering advertisers a higher-quality environment to reach audiences.

TVOD: The Biggest Movies, Right When Audiences Want Them

Throughout 2025, our TVOD store continued to bring the year’s biggest theatrical titles directly to European homes, offering a consistent pipeline of premium film releases. These tentpole moments strengthen the value of the overall platform by keeping audiences engaged and returning.


Distribution: Scaling Access Across Europe’s Devices and Operators

More Platforms, More Homes

Rakuten TV expanded availability across key European platforms, launching on TCL and Netgem in 2025, a step forward in making our content available wherever viewers are.

A Major New Partnerships with Virgin TV UK & Free Ciné FR  

Our app became available on Virgin TV in the United Kingdom, significantly expanding reach across one of Europe’s most competitive households.

This December, we also launched our flagship FAST channels alongside over 100 hours of curated on-demand films on Free Ciné, leading telecom provider in France.

In Poland, we also partnered with Pilot WP to power its TVOD store, bringing Rakuten TV’s premium transactional catalogue to one of the country’s leading digital platforms and extending our reach in Central and Eastern Europe.

For TV operators, Rakuten TV offers a proven content layer that deepens user engagement and enhances service value through a broad mix of AVOD, FAST, and TVOD.

Building a Stronger Streaming Landscape for All

Across AVOD, FAST, TVOD, and distribution, Rakuten TV’s 2025 milestones share one common goal: To help audiences discover great stories and help partners unlock greater opportunity.

For content owners: We deliver scale, curation, and monetisation across one of Europe’s largest CTV footprints.

For advertisers: We offer incremental reach, premium inventory, and high-performing, brand-safe environments.

For TV operators: We provide a diverse content offering that enhances platform stickiness and boosts engagement.

And for viewers, we continue to expand the stories they can enjoy with just one click.

www.enterprise.rakuten.tv/insights/2025-recap/

E-commerce Giant Rakuten Adds Shiba Inu to Mobile Wallet

Tue, 7/04/2026 - 15:21

Shiba Inu will be integrated into Rakuten Wallet alongside other top digital currencies.

Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten Group disclosed that it is adding the Shiba Inu (SHIB) meme coin to its mobile wallet. This move marks a positive regulatory and platform development for Shiba Inu in Japan.

SHIB going live on Rakuten Mobile Wallet

According to updates shared by Shibarium, Rakuten Wallet is expanding its spot trading to include SHIB, starting on April 15, 2026.

Upon debuting, Japanese users of Rakuten Wallet can buy, sell and trade SHIB directly on the platform using Japanese yen. They can also use other supported assets, all within a regulated.

Rakuten is not just a crypto exchange but a giant conglomerate with millions of users across e-commerce, banking, payments, credit cards and digital services.

Thus, adding SHIB to the platform exposes the token to everyday Japanese consumers who already use Rakuten for shopping and finance.

u.today/...erce-giant-rakuten-adds-shiba-inu-to-mobile-wallet

Intrinsic value estimate suggesting an 83.2% discount

With Rakuten Group trading at ¥746.3, an intrinsic value estimate suggesting an 83.2% discount and a 34.8% gap to analyst targets, the key question is whether this represents a genuine opportunity or whether the market is already accounting for future growth.

Most Popular Narrative: 26.4% Undervalued

With Rakuten Group last closing at ¥746.3 against a narrative fair value of ¥1,014.64, the current debate centers on whether the gap reflects upside potential or unresolved concerns about execution and profitability.

Rakuten Mobile is achieving rapid growth in subscribers, expected to drive the growth of the entire Rakuten ecosystem, contributing significantly to future revenue increases through cross selling of Rakuten services to mobile users. AI driven operational efficiencies, targeting a 31% reduction in customer support costs, are anticipated to improve net margins by boosting profitability across Rakuten's operational segments.

simplywall.st/stocks/jp/retail/tse-4755/...es-show-mixed-shor

Rakuten’s new concierge is intended to act as a professional sales consultant that filters through the noise. By summarizing complex information instantly and engaging in meaningful dialogue, the tool aims to find not just a product, but the right product for any given customer.

“The AI concierge engages in dialogue to deeply understand latent needs and lifestyle preferences that surface-level keywords miss,” says Kobayashi. “Interacting with the AI concierge enables it to truly understand individual needs, allowing for highly personalized recommendations from our vast catalog. This eliminates the confusion caused by information overload, enabling users to make confident, satisfying decisions as if they were receiving advice from a professional expert.”

This fundamental transformation of Rakuten Ichiba’s navigation is already yielding significant results.
“In practice, this has reduced the burden of product comparison and led to an approximate 43% reduction in time to purchase. By preventing drop-offs during long searches and guiding users toward products they feel confident in, we have seen an approximate 41% increase in average order value.”*
Leveraging homegrown expertise
“A long-standing trust in the Rakuten platform, our unique ecosystem centered on Rakuten Points, and our massive volume of consumer behavior data,” Kobayashi highlights. “These are clear competitive advantages that allow us to provide a level of convenience and sustainable growth that other companies cannot easily replicate.”

Rakuten has been driving innovation in the AI space, launching the Rakuten AI agentic platform in July 2025 at the Rakuten AI Optimism event. Rakuten Ichiba’s new concierge is milestone in the transformation to an Agentic Ecosystem.

“The AI concierge leverages Rakuten AI, our advanced agentic AI tool designed to improve customer experiences within the Rakuten Ecosystem. It excels in Japanese language processing and generation, and features multimodal capabilities.”

Kobayashi recognizes that Rakuten isn’t the only major player in this relatively new field of chat-based commerce.

“We see this as a positive opportunity for technical innovation and for increasing the e-commerce penetration rate in Japan,” he says. “But we also recognize that there are currently no definitive success stories in the industry. Through our new concierge, we want to establish a new industry standard for AI-driven shopping.”

Driving the future of digital hospitality

“We view AI not just as a tool, but as a vital driver that deeply connects Rakuten’s unique, personality-rich shops with our users.”

The shift away from traditional search could also herald a change for Rakuten Ichiba’s 50,000+ merchants, as more customers embrace discovery shopping over purpose-driven shopping. On the back-end, merchants already have access to AI-driven shop management tools, which Kobayashi urges them to take full advantage of.

“Because the AI Concierge fundamentally changes the buying experience, it is more important than ever for merchants to enhance both the quality and quantity of their product information.”
Rakuten’s ultimate vision for AI-driven shopping is to move beyond the limitations of a typical software interface, and toward a service that captures the expertise and hospitality of a physical store representative who understands your history, preferences, and needs.

“I believe the user experience will evolve toward even higher levels of personalization and deeper understanding through human-like dialogue,” Kobayashi predicts. “Within the year, we aim to provide a shopping experience where the AI replicates the expertise and hospitality of our merchants, allowing customers to feel as if they are talking directly to a shop representative.”

“We want to use AI to continuously evolve the Rakuten Ichiba platform, accelerating the sustainable growth of our merchants while drastically improving the customer experience.”

rakuten.today/blog/...redefining-the-shopping-experience.html

026/04/07

Full-scale introduction of AI in "Rakuten Card Chat Support" - AI quickly selects the best answer to improve the quality and efficiency of customer service

Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") will introduce an AI search system in earnest to provide customers with faster and more accurate answers to the "Rakuten Card Chat Support" from today, April 7 (Tuesday).


In recent years, the spread of smartphones and social media has spread text communication to a wide range of age groups. In response to changes in customer inquiry needs, in addition to responding by phone, we have introduced "Rakuten Card Chat Support" since 2017. Many customers use chat because they can make inquiries according to their situation and receive personalized answers, and the usage rate of chat exceeds 60% of the inquiries received from operators.

Until now, operators have searched for the most suitable answers from about 2,000 types of answer templates based on the accumulated wealth of inquiry data, but by selecting and suggesting them to the operator, the response speed will be improved, and the response time will ultimately be reduced by about 60 seconds. Operators can also provide answers based on AI-suggested templates, eliminating the risk of hallucination and ensuring that customers receive accurate answers.

We have continued to grow since the issuance of the Rakuten Card in July 2005, and the number of cards issued has exceeded 33.41 million as of the end of December 2025. In response to the increase in the number of inquiries from customers due to the increase in the number of issuances, the number of telephone inquiries decreased by about 60% from the peak by using chat and AI.

In the future, we will aim to further improve quality and efficiency, and will work to improve customer convenience by adding templates based on accumulated inquiry data and utilizing generative AI.

www.rakuten-card.co.jp/corporate/press_release/20260407/

The contents of the "Rakuten Mobile Strongest Thanksgiving Festival" that opened on April 1st were released in advance.

rakumoba.jp/rakuten-mobile-saikyo-kanshasai-2026-april/

How FAST/AVOD Is Redefining Reach (Part 3)

December 12, 2025

The Subscription Ceiling Has Arrived

After years of subscription growth, the streaming market has reached a turning point. Viewers are hitting their limit on how many services they’re willing – or able – to pay for.

The result? A growing appetite for free, ad-supported alternatives that offer quality content without the monthly cost.

FAST/AVOD: The Bridge Between Premium and Free

FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) and AVOD (Advertising-Based Video on Demand) bridge the gap between the traditional paywall of SVOD and the broad accessibility of broadcast TV.

These platforms attract audiences who want premium, on-demand content, but without the subscription fatigue that now defines much of the SVOD landscape.

And crucially for advertisers, 25% of FAST/AVOD viewers do not watch SVOD services at all.

That means one in four viewers in this ecosystem represents pure incremental reach – an audience segment brands can’t access through subscription platforms alone.

What It Means for Advertisers

SVOD may still dominate headlines, but it’s no longer the only destination for premium viewing.
FAST/AVOD gives brands an entry point into audiences who value free, curated, and easily discoverable content, and who are open to advertising as part of that experience.

For agencies and advertisers, the takeaway is clear:

FAST/AVOD complements, not competes with, paid streaming.

It expands reach into audiences unreachable behind paywalls.

And it does so within a high-quality, brand-safe environment.

As consumer behaviour shifts toward accessibility and flexibility, FAST/AVOD stands out as the most scalable path to maintain both reach and relevance in the streaming era.

As original experts in CTV and streaming in Europe, Rakuten TV has created Rakuten TV Enterprise, a suite of products and services designed to simplify CTV and streaming for agencies and advertisers, content owners, and television operators.

www.enterprise.rakuten.tv/insights/...efining-subscription-3/

NTN Revolution – Rakuten Symphony’s Groundbreaking Telecom Transformation

April 1, 2026

Traditionally, telecommunications kept base stations static while users were mobile. However, NTNs invert this relationship. Users remain relatively static, while antennas aboard satellites move swiftly across the sky.

Anshul Bhatt, Chief Product Officer of the OSS business unit at Rakuten Symphony, describes this shift as adding a fourth dimension to the existing geographic coordinates: time. As satellites travel at high speeds, coverage and capacity change rapidly, creating transient service areas. Consequently, coverage and quality in NTNs become dynamic and dependent on time.

Recognizing these complexities, Rakuten Symphony has designed the industry’s first NTN-specific OSS. This system utilizes real-time intelligence and automated provisioning to maintain service awareness. With satellite-specific dashboards linked to global databases, this OSS offers a comprehensive view correlating satellite paths with network services.

Currently, Rakuten Mobile uses the system, while collaborations with various operators and satellite providers in different orbits are underway. Integrating NTNs symbolizes not just an enhancement to radio access networks, but a reimagined partnership as cellular and satellite networks converge, promising seamless global connectivity.

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Why Japan’s $26.53 billion fintech market highlights regional diversification

2026/04/11

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Japan’s fintech market is projected to reach $26.53 billion in 2026, according to Fortune Business Insights. That figure makes Japan the third-largest fintech market in Asia Pacific, behind China at $30.86 billion and roughly level with India at $26.58 billion. For a country that still runs the majority of consumer transactions in cash, a $26.53 billion fintech sector is a more interesting number than it first appears.

The cash paradox

Japan’s cashless payment ratio reached 42.8% in 2024, up 3.5 percentage points year on year, according to Statista’s fintech in Japan data. That means over half of transactions still happen in cash. In most developed economies, that figure would indicate a failing fintech sector. In Japan, it indicates an opportunity.

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Die Rakuten Bank hat im April 2026 wichtige Meilensteine erreicht, darunter die Einführung eines neuen Zinssatzes von bis zu 0,64 % p.a. (vor Steuern) für Neukunden in Verbindung mit der Rakuten Saikyo U-NEXT-Kampagne. Zudem wurden die Pläne zur Restrukturierung des Fintech-Geschäfts der Muttergesellschaft wieder aufgenommen, um die Einlagen und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu stärken.
Wichtige Entwicklungen im April 2026:

Höhere Einlagenzinsen: Ab April 2026 gilt ein neuer Bonus-Zinssatz. Kunden können durch die Verknüpfung von Rakuten Bank und Rakuten Mobile einen Zinssatz von bis zu 0,64 % p.a. auf Spareinlagen erhalten.

Fintech-Restrukturierung: Rakuten Group hat die Gespräche zur Zusammenlegung der Fintech-Einheiten, einschließlich Rakuten Card und Rakuten Securities, wieder aufgenommen, um die Position in einem hart umkämpften Marktumfeld zu festigen.

Aktienentwicklung: Die Aktie der Rakuten Bank verzeichnete Anfang April 2026 einen deutlichen Anstieg um über 8 %.

Kundenzahl: Die Bank hat die Marke von 18 Millionen Kundenkonten überschritten.

Die Bank hält weiterhin an ihrer Strategie fest, ihre Marktposition als führende digitale Bank in Japan durch technologische Innovationen (wie Rakuten AI 3.0) auszubauen.

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By embedding Weezie into its fiber network offering, Rakuten Symphony will provide customers with a more complete, scalable and operationally efficient solution, eliminating the need to develop complex automation capabilities internally and enabling faster network expansion from day one.

“Fiber networks are critical to digital transformation, and this strategic partnership will enable operators and enterprises to deploy and operate fiber infrastructure faster, more efficiently and with greater confidence” said João Guedes, CEO and Founder of Weezie. “With Rakuten Symphony’s global scale, proven orchestration and automation platform, operational expertise and powerful ecosystem approach, we are creating a solution that allows fiber network operators to operate smarter and scale their networks with automation at the core.”

Weezie’s fiber network design and plan product is designed to plan for large, complex fiber networks that reduce manual processes and operational risk. Combined with Rakuten Symphony’s network solutions portfolio, the partnership supports a wide range of use cases, including telecommunications operators, ISPs, enterprise networks and wholesale fiber providers.

About Weezie
Weezie is a Portuguese software company, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Porto, specializing in fiber network management solutions. Focused on automation and digitalization, its platform integrates planning, execution, monitoring, and management teams into a single digital ecosystem, ensuring the best experience for end customers. This approach not only reduces work time compared to traditional methods but also minimizes discrepancies between project design and actual implementation. Weezie aims to be a trusted partner, providing knowledge and expertise to help customers grow their businesses.

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