Tech & Innovation
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Blog
How Rakuten Viber is shaping connections from chats to commerce in the Philippines
What if a single app could connect you with loved ones, grow your business and simplify your finances? Rakuten Viber is making that vision a reality in the Philippines, evolving into a comprehensive super app designed to meet the diverse needs of the Filipino market and make the lives of Filipinos easier. Recognizing the Philippines as a key market and a launchpad for its global innovations, Viber…
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Rakuten Card’s new CEO has bold plans for Japan’s credit card industry
By Koichi Nakamura, President & CEO of Rakuten’s credit card business, Rakuten Card. Since joining the Rakuten Group in 2004, he has led a variety of Group businesses, including Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Travel, Rakuten Payment, and Rakuten Asia Pte. Ltd. as Managing Director & CEO. The world of payments is constantly evolving. Contactless, QR codes, biometric authentication – when it comes…
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Moshi moshi? Space calling: Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile achieve Japan first satellite-to-mobile video call
Last week, Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile took a bold step towards realizing their shared mission of universal connectivity. The two companies conducted Japan’s first-ever mobile broadband video call between two regular smartphones through a low-Earth-orbit satellite. The milestone signals the start of a new era in Japanese mobile telecommunications. One in which remote areas and disaster zone…
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Inside Rakuten AI: Yusuke Kobayashi on the AI empowering Rakuten Ichiba merchants
In this series, we sit down with Rakuten AI leaders for a deep dive into the stories behind this transformative technology and the inspiring individuals driving Rakuten’s vision of AI for all. Watch this interview and others in the Inside Rakuten AI series on our YouTube channel. As AI continues to transform e-commerce at breakneck speed, creating exciting new avenues for growth and unprecedented…
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Building an AI-Ready Culture at Rakuten Product Conference 2025
Rakuten Product Conference (RPC) 2025, a flagship event from Rakuten India, is set to take place virtually on April 23. Now in its fifth year, RPC 2025 offers a deep dive into what it takes to build an AI-ready organization. Free and open to the public, the conference promises to be an insightful and engaging experience for anyone looking to leverage AI for sustainable growth and innovation.…
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Mickey Mikitani outlines bold ambition for telco transformation at MWC 2025
Rakuten brought its unique blueprint for “Intelligent Growth” to MWC Barcelona 2025, with an exciting schedule of speaker sessions, live demos, partnership meetings and more. Headlining the Rakuten Booth Theater on Day 2 of the show was Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani, who discussed the vital importance of Open RAN for the future of telecom, what sets Rakuten Mobil…
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Bridging the gap: How Rakuten AI is empowering Japanese SMEs to thrive in the AI era
In today’s era of rising wages, inflation and labor shortages, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Japan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). And while generative AI and AI-powered services are creating unprecedented opportunities for businesses to enhance customer experiences and drive growth, a recent Rakuten survey found that many Japanese SMEs remain on the sidelines, hesitant to e…
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Inside Rakuten AI: Guangda Li on reinventing customer experiences with GenAI
In this series, we sit down with Rakuten AI leaders for a deep dive into the stories behind this transformative technology and the inspiring individuals driving Rakuten’s vision of AI for all. Watch this interview and others in the Inside Rakuten AI series on our YouTube channel. Generative AI (GenAI) is revolutionizing how we shop, travel and live, offering hyper-personalized experiences that del…
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Rakuten’s robot revolution rolls up on Tokyo
A glimpse of Japan’s robotic future has rolled into Tokyo. In November 2024, Rakuten launched a new autonomous delivery service in Tokyo’s Harumi neighborhood. As the name suggests, the service employs autonomous robots to deliver products from a number of local supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, serving around 24,000 households. In February 2025, this roster of rolling robots was boosted by the…
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