Description
Rakuten, a leading Japanese technology company, has transformed its software development process by utilizing Claude Code, an AI-powered coding tool developed by Anthropic. This innovative approach has enabled Rakuten's engineering teams to automate coding tasks, significantly accelerating time to market while ensuring high-quality AI features for millions of customers.
One of the key achievements with Claude Code is the reduction of time to market for new features by 79%, decreasing the average time from 24 days to just 5 days. This remarkable improvement is complemented by a 99.9% accuracy rate on complex code modifications, showcasing the reliability of Claude Code in handling intricate coding tasks. Furthermore, Rakuten has successfully deployed Claude Managed Agents across various departments, including product, sales, marketing, and finance, within a week, empowering every team to innovate at speed.
The scale of Rakuten's operations, which encompasses over 70 businesses in e-commerce, travel, fintech, digital content, and communications, necessitated a robust AI solution to enhance productivity and maintain enterprise-grade quality and security standards. Yusuke Kaji, General Manager of AI for Business at Rakuten, emphasized the importance of speed and return on investment (ROI) as key metrics for success, stating, "We measure success by how quickly we can deliver value to customers, not just how fast AI can write code."
Rakuten's commitment to AI integration is part of its broader "AI-nization" strategy, which aims to weave AI throughout its business operations. By building AI agents and large language models, Rakuten is not only enhancing its technical capabilities but also democratizing innovation across the organization. The deployment of Claude Managed Agents has allowed employees to assign tasks and receive deliverables efficiently, further streamlining workflows.
The impact of Claude Code on Rakuten's development processes has been profound. Engineering teams have reported a significant decrease in the time required to ship features, with many tasks now completed in parallel, thanks to the autonomous capabilities of Claude Code. This shift has not only improved operational efficiency but has also empowered non-engineers to contribute to coding projects, thereby expanding the pool of contributors and accelerating innovation velocity.
As Rakuten continues to scale its use of Claude Code, the company is committed to transforming its development workflows and enhancing the capabilities of its workforce. The successful implementation of Claude Code serves as a blueprint for enterprise transformation, demonstrating how AI can reshape software development and drive significant business impact.
Key Takeaways
79% reduction in time to market
99.9% accuracy on code modifications
7 hours of autonomous coding
Deployment across multiple departments within one week
AI-powered code review
Parallel development capabilities
Empowers non-engineers to contribute
Supports complex multi-language codebases
What This Case Study Demonstrates
- Accelerated Feature Delivery
- Autonomous Coding
- Cross-Department Collaboration
- Empowering Non-Technical Staff
- Improved Code Quality
