Rakuten Bank, Ltd. reported consolidated financial results for the nine months ending December 31, 2024, showing significant growth with a 30.3% increase in ordinary income and a 40.4% rise in ordinary profit compared to the previous year. This performance highlights the bank’s strong position in the industry and its successful strategies, which may positively impact its stakeholders and market presence.

https://www.tipranks.com/news/...rts-strong-financial-growth-for-2024

 

 

Our goals for this year are to increase revenue and profit and to achieve full-year EBITDA profitability for Rakuten Mobile on a standalone basis.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...l-Transcripts-49072747/
 

Rakuten’s dual AI-approach: developing proprietary large language models while leveraging its ecosystem for wide-ranging AI applications.  

The cloud-native necessity in telecom, with Rakuten Cloud

21 February 2025

How to simplify IT and network software operations to take advantage of new business opportunities and radically cut costs.

https://the-mobile-network.com/2025/02/...telecom-with-rakuten-cloud/
 

Rakuten International with USD 93.4 million income improvement

The Rakuten International business unit achieved revenue of USD 2,037 million, up 8.5% YoY, driven by strong earnings from Rakuten Kobo and Rakuten Viber. Non-GAAP operating income reached USD 48.5 million, an improvement of USD 93.4 million YoY, achieving full-year profitability through successful cost reductions and profitability improvements across Rakuten Rewards and portfolio businesses.

https://www.telecomtv.com/content/...ancial-results-highlights-52340/
 

CABIFY FUNDING INVESTORS

DATE INVESTORS AMOUNT ROUND

Sep 2012
Red Swan Ventures
Winklevoss Capital
E-Merge
Hit Forge
RESOLUTE Partners
Maurice Werdegar
€1.5m Series A

Apr 2014
Seaya
Brendan Wallace
Kevin Laws
Marc Bell Capital
$8.0m Series A

Oct 2014
Seaya
$4.0m Series B

Oct 2015
Seaya
Rakuten
Winklevoss Capital
Daniel Curran
Peter Livingston
Rakuten Capital
Cometa
$12.0m Series B

Apr 2016
Rakuten
Rakuten Capital
$120m
Valuation: $320m
Series C

May 2017
Seaya
Rakuten
AngelList
Endeavor Catalyst
Rakuten Capital
€91.0m Series D

Jan 2018
Rakuten
Endeavor Catalyst
TheVentureCity
GAT Investments
Rakuten Capital
Liil Ventures
$160m
Valuation: $1.4b Series E

Feb 2019
IDB
$70.0m Debt

May 2022
European Investment Bank
€40.0m Debt

Jul 2022
Mutua Madrileña
N/A Late VC

Mar 2023
AXIS
Orilla Asset Management
$60.0m
Valuation: $1.4b
2.0x EV/LTM Revenues Late VC

Jan 2024
BBVA
€15.0m Debt

Jun 2024
Rakuten
Mutua Madrileña
Orilla Asset Management
$21.6m
Valuation: $1.4b Growth Equity VC

Total Funding €443m

https://startup.spri.eus/companies/cabify  

The advertising business, which is highly profitable, grew by 7% year-on-year to 222.1 billion yen, making it a major growth driver.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...l-Transcripts-49072747/
 

 

Rakuten (4755) Earnings: Surpassing 4Q Estimates with Strong Operating Income and Sales Growth
February 14, 2025

Analyzing the analyst coverage of Rakuten on Smartkarma reveals a positive sentiment towards the company’s recent strategic moves. Travis Lundy‘s report highlights Rakuten‘s new Shareholder Benefit Plan, offering a free mobile plan to shareholders as a way to boost stock prices and increase mobile subscribers for 2025. Leonard Law, CFA, in the Morning Views publication, also mentions Rakuten as a high yield issuer, indicating positive developments within the company. Furthermore, Michael Causton‘s analysis focuses on Rakuten Mart, an upcoming online supermarket launch that is set to compete with major players like Amazon and Aeon, showcasing Rakuten‘s resilience in the e-commerce space despite criticism of its mobile business.

The collective analyst coverage on Rakuten from Smartkarma providers like Travis Lundy, Leonard Law, CFA, and Michael Causton underscores a bullish outlook on the company’s growth prospects and innovative business strategies. Despite challenges in expanding globally, Rakuten‘s core e-commerce operations and upcoming ventures like Rakuten Mart are positioned to strengthen its market presence and competitiveness against key industry players. Additionally, insights from Business Breakdowns highlight Rakuten‘s unique loyalty point system and diverse service offerings, illustrating its significant presence in Japan’s digital economy landscape.

https://www.smartkarma.com/home/newswire/...-income-and-sales-growth/
 

 

U.S. Loyalty Programs Market Growth Report 2025: Rakuten and Fetch Rewards have Disrupted Traditional Models by Offering Cashback or Gamified Points Systems, through App-based Loyalty Programs

February 14, 2025

Rakuten and Fetch Rewards have disrupted traditional models by offering cashback or gamified points systems, particularly through app-based loyalty programs.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/...based-Loyalty.html
 

Powerful contribution of Mobile to the ecosystem

The contribution of mobile services to other services is also steadily growing. For example, in Rakuten Ichiba, customers who subscribe to Rakuten Mobile increase their purchase amounts by nearly 50%. In Rakuten Travel, usage increases by about 15%, and in Rakuten Card, spending increases by nearly 30%. Rakuten Mobile is making a significant contribution.

Additionally, Rakuten Mobile subscribers are increasingly using other Rakuten Group services. Comparing those who subscribe to Rakuten Mobile with those who do not, Rakuten Mobile subscribers use an average of 3.17 new services, which is 2.43 additional services compared with non-subscribers. This demonstrates the powerful contribution of Rakuten Mobile to the ecosystem.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...072747/#google_vignette
 

Rakuten Viki Content Acquisition 2025  Unraveling the Streaming Giant’s Strategy Vitrina AI

January 5, 2025

https://vitrina.ai/blog/...-the-streaming-giants-strategy-vitrina-ai/
 

The loyalty market in the United States is expected to grow by 15.7% on annual basis to reach US$27.26 billion in 2025.

In value terms, the U.S. loyalty market has recorded a CAGR of 17.5% during 2020-2024. The loyalty market in the United States will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 13.2% during 2025-2029. The U.S. loyalty market is expected to increase from US$23.57 billion in 2024 to reach US$44.73 billion by 2029.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/...based-Loyalty.html


 

Rakuten Kobo plans to implement some paid services for its  e-readers that are subscription-based.

Published on 01 February 2025

Rakuten Kobo is planning to implement some paid services for its e-readers. These services will be subscription-based and offer people a Send to Kindle alternative and access to Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud service providers. Storygraph, Goodreads, and other social book discovery platforms will also be available on the e-reader.

One of the most popular features of Kobo e-readers is borrowing e-books from Overdrive. To do so, you need a digital library card and a four-digit PIN, which you enter in the settings menu. The local branch will then appear, and users can browse, borrow, and read right on the e-reader. However, users can only browse one library, but Kobo might be planning to allow users to use multiple libraries simultaneously.

https://goodereader.com/blog/kobo-ereader-news/...for-their-e-readers
 

Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 5, 2025
In the fiscal year 2024, the operating revenue of Rakuten Securities, Inc. amounted to 130.1 billion Japanese yen, up 17.3 percent from the previous fiscal year. Rakuten Securities is a Japanese online securities company that operates under the umbrella of Rakuten Securities Holdings.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1368742/...ies-operating-revenue/
 

Rakuten Symphony, a Service Based Technology Company

November 14, 2024

Telcos will enable network & closed loop automation and AI will play a big role as a catalyst for customers, and end-customers. Watch Sandeep Aurora, SVP (APAC & MEA) of Rakuten Symphony talk about the role of cloud-native, Open RAN & Security in delivering a service-rich experience for customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igxcdEaIvz8
 

Europe Cross-Border E-commerce Market Size & Growth, 2033

https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/...-commerce-market
 

13 February, 2025, 18:23

On February 13, Rakuten Viber opens pre-registration for Ukrainians for Viber Dating, a dating service that is supposed to build on the Viber app. The company told the news to AIN.
In January, the waiting list for the new service was opened in the Philippines, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

https://en.ain.ua/2025/02/13/...er-launches-in-app-dating-in-ukraine/

 

 

AST SpaceMobile stock surges on new government contract

Published 02/26/2025

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) shares jumped 14% today following the announcement of a new contract with the United States Space Development Agency (SDA) valued at $43 million. The contract, which is in support of the SDA through a prime contractor, highlights the company's continued collaboration with the U.S. Space Force and reinforces its role in developing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

The rise in stock price can be attributed to the market's positive response to the new contract, which comes on the heels of successful testing with the company's BlueWalker-3 satellite. AST SpaceMobile's next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites are set to feature the largest commercial phased array antennas in low Earth orbit, covering an impressive 2,400 square feet. This technological advancement is expected to provide advanced connectivity and performance for specialized government applications.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/...ract-93CH-3893485
 

AI Utilization is Key! Rakuten New Year Conference 2025

February 26, 2025

The annual Rakuten New Year Conference event was held again in 2025, gathering merchants from Rakuten Ichiba. Mickey and other executives shared strategies and visions shaping the future of Rakuten Ichiba, including examples of AI utilization, renewing regular (subscription) purchases, and enhancements in logistics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9xRwDZQsCw&t=5s

 

Starting from February 20, messages from the EHCS will be sent via Viber, while SMS will remain as a backup channel

Starting from February 20, 2025, messages from the Electronic Healthcare System (EHCS) with a confirmation code, e-prescription number, or e-referral will be received on Viber. SMS will remain a guaranteed delivery channel for such messages, reported the National Health Service of Ukraine.

If a patient has Viber, messages from the EHCS will be sent primarily through this communication channel. If the patient does not have Viber, an SMS will be delivered to them.

https://antikor.ua/en/articles/...er_sms_ostanutsja_rezervnym_kanalom
 

Top 5 brand-consumer communication trends to watch in 2025 and beyond

https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ua/blog/post/...mmunication-trends/