LinkShare Corporation

What LinkShare Corporation does

LinkShare Corporation, founded in 1996, is a New York-headquartered affiliate marketing network that now operates as Rakuten Advertising following its 2005 acquisition by Japan's Rakuten Group for approximately $425 million. The company operates a global two-sided platform connecting enterprise advertisers (brands and agencies) with publishers, influencers, and payment partners across more than 10 regional markets including the US, APAC, Brazil, Canada, and major European countries. Its technology stack centers on an AI-powered suite called Affiliate Intelligence, which provides predictive analytics, partner discovery, forecasting, and benchmarking capabilities built on what the company describes as the industry's largest data science team and exclusive proprietary data.

The product portfolio extends beyond core affiliate tracking to include Audience Engine (audience targeting), Detect (measurement), Influencer Marketing, Media, Display advertising, an Insights & Analytics Portal, and a Developer Portal with API access. The platform has reportedly reached 1.2 billion consumers and processed over 200 million transactions, holding the #1 ranking in global affiliate traffic. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based commissions on successful affiliate conversions, with the business operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of publicly traded Rakuten Group (TSE: 4755.T). In 2024, the company formed a strategic partnership with impact.com to extend its partner marketing capabilities.

The company targets global brands, agencies, and publishers across Financial Services, Retail, and Travel verticals, with named enterprise customers including H&M, JD Sports, Icelandair, OUAI, and Cleo. Distribution combines enterprise direct sales for advertisers with self-service publisher onboarding. No standalone revenue, ARR, or headcount growth disclosures are publicly available, and the LinkShare entity is not separately reported within Rakuten Group's segment financials.

Name

LinkShare Corporation

Legal name

LinkShare Corporation

Website

https://linkshare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

LinkShare Corporation operates Rakuten Advertising, a global affiliate marketing network connecting enterprise brands and agencies with publishers and influencers across 10+ regional markets. The platform uses AI-powered Affiliate Intelligence for partner discovery, forecasting, and benchmarking, reaching 1.2B+ consumers via transaction-fee revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affiliate Marketing

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate & Partner Marketing (Performance Partnerships) (BPAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affiliate Marketing & Partner Networks (BPAMALAI), Affiliate Marketing & Partner Program Management (MPAAACAD), Affiliate & Partner Lead Generation Networks (BPAFAKAL)

Keywords

• Affiliate marketing network
• Performance marketing platform
• Partner marketing solutions
• Publisher network
• Influencer marketing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Marketing Services: Performance-based affiliate marketing network connecting advertisers with publishers. Revenue generated through commissions on successful transactions and partnerships across the network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LinkShare Corporation, operating as Rakuten Advertising, operates a global affiliate marketing network that connects enterprise advertisers and brands with a curated network of publishers, influencers, and payment partners for performance-based marketing campaigns. The platform combines the core Affiliate network with AI-powered Affiliate Intelligence tools for partner discovery, forecasting, and benchmarking, supported by an Insights & Analytics Portal and Developer APIs. Revenue is generated through commissions on successful transactions across the network spanning awareness, engagement, sales, and loyalty stages.

Product overview

LinkShare Corporation, now operating under Rakuten Advertising, is a leading global affiliate marketing network with 25+ years of experience. The platform operates as a unified ecosystem combining the core Affiliate network with AI-powered intelligence tools (Affiliate Intelligence), audience targeting (Audience Engine), influencer marketing capabilities, and integrated media solutions. The suite includes dedicated portals for advertisers (dashboard.linkshare.com), publishers, and developers, all connected through a full-funnel global partner network reaching 1.2B+ consumers across multiple verticals including Financial Services, Retail, and Travel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Affiliate

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.2B+ consumers reached through the network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• impact.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRakuten Advertising and impact.com form a strategic partnership, combining two industry titans to create a powerful force in partner marketing. The partnership provides more opportunities, deeper intelligence, greater clarity, and stronger performance for clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amazon Associates: Amazon's first-party affiliate program, a foundational ecosystem player that captures publisher-promoted commerce. Competes with LinkShare indirectly by owning its own massive retail-media-meets-affiliate inventory and increasingly pulling spend from open networks.
• Walmart Connect (and other retail media networks): First-party retail media networks that increasingly absorb affiliate-style demand. Included as a peer because they represent the structural competitive threat disintermediating open affiliate networks like LinkShare by owning publisher-of-record and attribution.

Direct peers

• PartnerStack: B2B-focused partner management platform for SaaS affiliate and referral programs. Competes with Rakuten Advertising's broader affiliate suite for B2B SaaS and vertical-specific partnership budgets, particularly in software and financial services.
• Partnerize: AI-powered partner marketing automation platform serving enterprise brands and agencies. Competes with Rakuten Advertising/LinkShare's tech stack and affiliate intelligence capabilities, particularly on SaaS delivery and partner discovery.
• Pepperjam (Ascend): Affiliate and partner marketing platform owned by Partnerize's parent. Provides network and SaaS-style technology similar to Rakuten Advertising for mid-market and enterprise advertisers, with category overlap in retail and DTC.
• impact.com: Global partner marketing platform covering affiliate, influencer, and B2B partnerships. Now a strategic partner of Rakuten Advertising/LinkShare, the two are marketed together as the dominant combined affiliate force serving identical enterprise brand advertisers.
• Awin (including ShareASale): Global affiliate marketing network formed through the merger of Affiliate Window and ShareASale, owned by Axel Springer. Direct competitor offering a comparable performance-based publisher network for enterprise brands, with strong European presence and growing North American share.
• CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction): One of the longest-standing global affiliate networks, owned by Publicis Groupe's WPP/Publicis affiliate. Directly competes with Rakuten Advertising/LinkShare for the same enterprise brand advertisers across retail, travel, and financial services verticals.

Emerging players

• Sovrn //Commerce: Publisher-focused ad tech and affiliate platform serving independent publishers. Comparable in affiliate commerce monetization and competing for the publisher supply side that Rakuten Advertising aggregates into its curated network.
• Refersion: Affiliate and influencer marketing platform focused on DTC and Shopify brands. Comparable on the SMB/mid-market side of affiliate technology that overlaps with the lower tier of Rakuten Advertising's publisher ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rakutenadvertising
• Xx.com/rakutenmktg_us
• Facebookfacebook.com/linkshare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LinkShare Corporation