Rakuten SixthSense, the B2B technology arm of the Japanese Rakuten Group, said it is exploring newer markets globally, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East, next year.

Launched in 2021, Rakuten SixthSense’s largest markets are India and North America. It plans to expand its presence into the Middle East and European markets – two regions experiencing rapid digital adoption.

“Rakuten is a global technology conglomerate. We are into everything including e-commerce, payments, media, streaming, content, and movie-making, so 75 plus businesses. While we scale and grow our consumer business, we had a strategic shift to add B2B businesses and not just be a B2C company. We then diversified into various B2B Technology Services,” said Sunil Gopinath, CEO of Rakuten India.

In India, the organisation has 1,800 employees. “Rakuten has made a huge technology investment in India, not just for this business, but overall, for everything we do, in terms of it being the R&D hub. India is the second largest technology region for Rakuten Group outside of Tokyo - even bigger than America, Singapore, and Europe,” Gopinath shared.

SixthSense’s Clients

Rakuten SixthSense’s clients include national government agencies, leading airlines, financial institutions, global retail chains, and other technology giants.

“Close to 10 per cent of the company’s revenue will come from products like Rakuten SixthSense. Over the next three to four years, Rakuten is aiming for an even split, where 50-60 per cent of the revenue will come from services, and 30-40 per cent from product and product-based sales. That’s the vision,” he said.

Alongside, Rakuten SixthSense announced the launch of two solutions: Data Observability and API Security Observability. By expanding its suite, Rakuten SixthSense is set to deepen its market reach, focusing on sectors such as finance, healthcare, retail, and government, and broadening its footprint in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment.

Related Topics