Renraku Computer Systems
Renraku Computer Systems is one of the biggest corporations in the world and one of the Big Ten corporations. It was a founding member of the Corporate Court back when it was still called Keruba International. The modern corporation specializes in cyberware and other human-technology interface devices.
Structure
Renraku prizes employee dedication to the corporation, so most efforts are centralized around the construction and use of arcologies, or corporate structures designed to provide everything an employee needs while staying on corporate property. Adherence to Japanese culture and viewpoints, especially pro-corporate viewpoints, are highly rewarded. By extension, employees brought up through Renraku schooling systems are prioritized, as are those who accept getting Renraku implants such as datalinks and softlinks. Those who fit these criteria have a good chance of rising up through the ranks, getting highly influential positions at whatever arcology is closest and eventually even promotion to one of their home arcologies in Japan.
Metahumans are particularly disliked within Renraku, so they have little hope of being promoted beyond lower level positions. Japanese nationals are also favored over foreigners, although a non-metahuman foreigner has a good chance of becoming upper management should they show proper adherence to Renraku values.
Public Agenda
Renraku has had a very open conflict with Fuchi and by extension Novatech. Although the conflict hasn't broken out into outright corporate warfare, things have been tense between the three corporations. Renraku initially attacked Fuchi's assets, aided by the betrayal of Miles Lanier, but Richard Villiers, former CEO of Fuchi, abandoned Fuchi to form Novatech, bringing many of the former's assets with it. Renraku's been struggling to redirect its efforts, slowed by Villiers' sabotage efforts.
History
Renraku started life as a Slovenia-based corporation called Keruba International, a military consortium. It made a massive amount of money during the political conflicts of the early 2000s, quickly skyrocketing up as one of the biggest companies in the world. It was soon able to branch out beyond just weapons to include compueter systems, communications systems, and heavy industry in its portfolio, until it gained extraterritorial status in 2011.
As sooon as it became an extraterritorial entity, Keruba began trying to push around its fellow megacorporations. As a military consortium it had strong ties to the political entities that it operated under, allowing it to slowly push competition out. In late 2011, it begain a shadow war with BMW (now Saeder-Krupp), which had similarly strong ties, in this case to Germany. The war devastated both sides, as well as their countries, leading to the decision to form a corporate advisory board, the Inter-Coporate Court. This board aimed to mitigate conflicts between corporations to avoid massive wars like the one Keruba had just fought.
Unfortunately, this early version of the Corporate Court had little to no actual power, so Keruba was free to go to war once again in 2013, this time against ORO (now Aztechnology). The ICC advised de-escalation to both corporations, but all it could physically do was wait for both sides to tire themselves out. The war ate up a large portion of Keruba's assets, forcing them to switch to the defensive to ward off attacks from Ares and Mitsuhama.
With Keruba temporarily out of commission, the Coroprate Court began restructuring to solidify their hold on the megacorporations. As one of the founding corporations, the Big Seven, Kerbua gained a permenant seat on the Court, but this was a step down for the corporation that could previously swing its weight around. The clause granting a permenant seat to the Big Seven seemed like it would be tested by Keruba, who many thought would go under any day.
Then two events occurred in rapid succession that revitalized Keruba. First, the Crash of '29 devastated the global computer market and killed millions. Keruba's CEO died in the disaster, with the company seeming to be right behind it. At the same time, a corporate raider named Inazo Aneki formed a holding company called Renraku based in Japan which snapped up the nearly dead company.
Aneki was, and still is, a very devious man who could play around corporate battlefield to his own gain. During the 2030s, Aneki streamlined Renraku and put it at the head of the global movement to rebuild the information network. This bounced Renraku back up to being one of the biggest corporations in the world, in turn forcing the Corporate Court's hand. The question of whether Keruba still had a place on the Court became moot; Keruba became Renraku, and Renraku definitely had a place on the Court. This decision both established Renraku on the world stage and set the precedent that the Big Seven could move around among other corporations while still keeping their seat, a fact that would bit Renraku on the ass down the line.
But in the 2030s, Aneki didn't care about the future. He and other executives made millions, but his gains made Aneki lazy. Day-to-day running of the corporation fell more and more to executives lower down the ladder while Aneki enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Corruption grew within Renraku and Aneki's investors worried he had led them astray. They attempted to overthrow Aneki, but the businessman got forewarning. He purged the company of its current investors, executives, and everyone else who had been associated with the old regime. With the monetary losses of these moves mounting up, Aneki searched for a way to get new money flowing into the company.
His answer came from two different sources. First, Aneki issued new shares in the company, this time publicly, vastly reducing his control but keeping the company afloat. By the time trading settled down Aneki controlled just 5% of shares, a majority but only just. He then tied the company closer to the Imperial administration of Japan. This came with further enforcement of Imperial Japanese values within the company, but Aneki has always seemed ubotherered by this change, as it allows him to continue living in luxury.
More recently, Renraku and Fuchi have slowly approached a corporate war. Both companies have tried to corner the tech industry, but neither could quite get the advantage over the other to fire the first shot. This changed in 2053 when Miles Lanier, second-in-command at Fuchi, betrayed his boss Richard Villiers and joined Renraku. Lanier gave Renraku details about Fuchi that allowed them to devastate their competitor. Renraku's seen losses in the process, but Fuchi has almost entirely gone under. Unfortunately for Renraku, Villiers himself also left the company to become CEO of Novatech Incorporated which bought out JRJ International, the corporation holding Fuchi's seat on the Corporate Court. Although Novatech does not have the power to directly challenge Renraku yet, it has a seat on the Court and with it the influence to make life difficult for Aneki.
Founding Date
2005
Alternative Names
Keruba International (2005 - 2029)
Leader
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Rivals
Ever since the 2030s, Renraku and Fuchi have been rivals after the same industry; matrixware. This rivalry cooled into a low burn in the early 2050s when both companies began to settle into their respective niches, but reignited with the betrayal of Lanier.
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