Rakuten Opens New Research Institute in Bangalore, India
Research focus on Deep Learning, Computer Vision and Robotics for Warehouse Logistics Applications
Rakuten, Inc. has announced the opening of a new dedicated research and development organisation, Rakuten Institute of Technology, at its operations center in Bangalore, India.
Rakuten Institute of Technology Bangalore is the first research centre for the institute in India and the sixth worldwide. It already has research centres located in Tokyo, Paris, Boston, Singapore and San Mateo.
“I’m thrilled with the opening of our new research office in India and excited to announce that Sunil Gopinath, CEO at Rakuten India, will lead our team of researchers in Bangalore,” said Masaya Mori, global head of Rakuten Institute of Technology. “India has a vibrant computer science research community in Bangalore and we look forward to collaborate with academic researchers to discover and develop new technology applications.”
The announcement was made after a deep learning hackathon conducted by the company in Bangalore concluded on November 30th.
Specific areas of focus for Rakuten Institute of Technology Bangalore will include:
・Practical applied research around deep learning to detect and predict financial fraud
・Advancing research of Computer Vision, in particular its applications in e-commerce and medical imaging
・Advancement of automation to improve efficiency in warehouse robotics and logistics
“India has one the largest technical talent pools in the world and researchers in India have a strong understanding of combining academic research with real business domain applications to deliver pioneering business solutions,” said Sunil Gopinath, Senior Vice President, Rakuten Institute of Technology Bangalore. “Rakuten Institute of Technology Bangalore has been set up with an aim to strengthen Rakuten Institute of Technology’s global vision of leveraging technology to further improve the convenience of Rakuten’s e-commerce, fintech and digital content services.”
Rakuten Institute of Technology proactively collaborates with industry and academia, holding personnel exchanges with educational institutions and conducting research incorporating the latest academic knowledge. The new office in Bangalore will become a hub for collaboration with Indian research universities with the aim of providing high-level researchers with opportunities to research internet technologies and develop tailored services for Rakuten group companies around the world.
Rakuten Institute of Technology was established in 2006 as the dedicated R&D organization of the Rakuten Group. With the constant evolution of the cyber world and the rapid growth of internet services, Rakuten Institute of Technology was founded with the aim of novel research and development for the Rakuten Group.
Rakuten Institute of Technology is located in Tokyo, San Mateo, Paris, Singapore, and Boston and now in Bangalore, engaging in cross-location projects and supporting the globalization of the Rakuten Group. External to the Rakuten network, the Institute is partnered with Prof. Hidehiko Masuhara of the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Yukihiro Matsumoto, the creator of the Ruby programming language, who serves as a fellow.
Rakuten India Enterprise Private Limited, established in 2014 in Bangalore. It provides e-commerce related engineering and mobile developmental initiatives along with innovative data and insight products for Rakuten’s global e-commerce operations. It also manages Rakuten’s global network and security operations to provide secure global cloud and network infrastructure services.
