# Rakuten Advertising

> Rakuten Advertising is the global affiliate and performance-marketing arm of Japan's Rakuten Group. Born as LinkShare in 1996 and acquired by Rakuten in 2005, it connects the world's top brands with publishers, creators and highly engaged audiences across 200+ countries. Today it pairs a pioneering affiliate network with AI-powered tools for fraud detection, partnership discovery and reporting, while pushing influencer and affiliate marketing closer together.

- **Founded:** 1996
- **Headquarters:** San Mateo, California, United States
- **Founders:** Stephen Messer (Co-founder, LinkShare (predecessor)), Heidi Messer (Co-founder, LinkShare (predecessor))
- **Team size:** ~900 employees (division estimate)
- **Products:** Affiliate Network, Affiliate Intelligence, Storefronts, Innovation Labs, Search & Performance Marketing
- **Notable:** Voted the industry's #1 Affiliate Marketing Network for more than a decade running, Descended from LinkShare, one of the earliest affiliate networks (founded 1996), Operates across 200+ countries

## Products & services

- **Affiliate Network** — A global affiliate marketing platform connecting advertisers with thousands of publishers and partners across 200+ countries.
- **Affiliate Intelligence** — A suite of AI-powered tools including Detect (ad-fraud and anomaly detection), Partnership Discovery (optimal advertiser-publisher matching) and Prompt (AI-generated custom reporting).
- **Storefronts** — An influencer marketing solution letting advertisers collaborate with hand-selected creators on brand-exclusive shoppable experiences.
- **Innovation Labs** — A product collaboration hub accelerating the use of AI across affiliate marketing.
- **Search & Performance Marketing** — Paid search, programmatic display and lead-generation services driven by consumer insights and machine learning.

## Achievements

- Voted the industry's #1 Affiliate Marketing Network for more than a decade running
- Descended from LinkShare, one of the earliest affiliate networks (founded 1996)
- Operates across 200+ countries
- Acquired by Rakuten for $425M in 2005 - Rakuten's first major overseas expansion
- Launched Affiliate Intelligence AI suite and Innovation Labs (2025)

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Unveiled industry-first solutions at Rakuten Optimism 2025 for greater affiliate transparency and creator growth, including the Storefronts influencer solution.
- **2025-05** — Showcased Affiliate Intelligence - AI tools Detect, Partnership Discovery and Prompt - for fraud detection, partner matching and automated reporting.
- **2025** — Launched Innovation Labs, a collaboration hub to accelerate AI in affiliate marketing.

## Links

- Website: https://rakutenadvertising.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rakutenadvertising
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/RakutenGlobal
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rakuten

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/rakuten-advertising
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20