Tech & Innovation
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Blog
When AI starts running physical infrastructure: Rakuten Symphony at Interop Tokyo
What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond generating text and starts running real-world, physical infrastructure? This was a pivotal question driving discussion at Interop Tokyo 2026. For the past year, the global tech industry has been dominated by standalone generative AI applications. While these tools are fascinating, they often exist in isolation from the actual infrastructure th…
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Navigating the digital wave with Rakuten Maritime’s vision for safer seas
The modern commercial vessel is far more than a steel hull moving cargo across oceans. Today’s fleets operate as floating smart cities, relying on a complex web of automation, cloud data and autonomous systems to sustain global trade. Navigating this hyper-connected reality requires a fundamental overhaul of maritime safety, a challenge that has brought Rakuten Maritime straight to the foref…
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From the Rakuten playbook: How telcos can leverage real-time data and ecosystems to supercharge growth
Mobile networks face a paradox: While the connectivity they provide has never been more essential, with data consumption reaching all-time highs, soaring usage has failed to translate into meaningful revenue growth. A recent PwC global telecom industry report forecasted 2025-2029 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to drop to just 2.8%, with monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) projecting to sli…
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How Rakuten Viber turned secure messaging into a Super App dating success
What if the same app you use to message your family and run your business could also help you find the one? For millions of users, this is already a reality. Since its Valentine’s Day 2025 launch across initial markets like the Philippines, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Viber Dating has rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia and Europe, evolving into a global success story. By integ…
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Rakuten Product Conference 2026 explores the rise of the Agentic Enterprise
The conversation around artificial intelligence is changing. A year ago, most discussions focused on what AI could generate. Now, increasingly, the focus is on how it can independently execute complex tasks. That shift formed the backdrop of the Rakuten Product Conference 2026, organized by Rakuten India on April 22, 2026. Built around the theme “The Agentic Enterprise,” the conference brought tog…
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Inspiring the next generation: High school students visit Rakuten for “Girls Meet STEM”
As part of Rakuten’s mission to “contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship,” the company recently hosted its second “Girls Meet STEM” office tour. As part of the tour, 20 female junior high and senior high school students explored Rakuten Crimson House, Rakuten’s headquarters in Tokyo, while gaining insights on what it’s like to work at Rakuten and work in a S…
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Rakuten Mobile reaches Level 4 autonomy for RAN energy efficiency
Tens of thousands of base stations, scattered across diverse landscapes; operating a national mobile network has historically been a mammoth undertaking of physical infrastructure. The task of maintaining peak performance to meet the fluctuating demands of users typically requires an army of engineers across the country, operating around the clock. As the industry prepares for 6G and beyond, the c…
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Rakuten Product Conference 2026: The Agentic Enterprise Unveiled
There is a subtle shift underway in how we speak about AI. For years, the language was about efficiency. Tools that help write, recommend, optimize. Systems that sit alongside human effort, speeding things up, making things smoother. Lately, that framing feels insufficient. The question today is no longer what AI can do for us. It is what it can do together with us as a proactive assistant. This i…
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Rakuten’s new AI concierge is redefining the shopping experience
After nearly 30 years of searching keywords, Japan’s biggest online marketplace now has a brand-new way to navigate its vast catalog: Rakuten AI. Announced in December 2025, Rakuten Ichiba launched the new agentic AI concierge in its mobile app, giving shoppers a powerful alternative to the static search bar. Shoppers can engage the concierge in dialogue using text, voice, or even their phone’s ca…
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