Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Acquired
2024/09/30
Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Acquired
2024/09/30
In front of a sold-out crowd at San Francisco’s Chase Center, Acquired pulled back the curtain on one of its most ambitious events yet—an intimate gathering of tech visionaries, creators, and fans celebrating the stories behind transformative companies. What unfolded was less a traditional podcast recording and more a live chronicle of innovation, resilience, and the unpredictable journey of building something lasting in the tech world.
The event highlighted Acquired's remarkable growth since 2015, now surpassing 5 million listening hours on Spotify alone. Daniel Ek joined to reflect on Spotify’s evolution from music to podcasts and audiobooks, driven by global, non-English audiences and deliberate strategic patience. The conversation expanded to YouTube’s underestimated value, LinkedIn’s post-acquisition success under Microsoft, and SpaceX’s Starlink reaching profitability. Taylor Swift’s financial dominance was analyzed, with her Eras Tour signaling untapped growth potential. Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg shared insights on entrepreneurship, emphasizing how ignorance of future struggles fuels bold beginnings. Meta’s long-term vision for AR glasses and AI-driven social experiences took center stage, along with its philosophy of rapid iteration, learning through feedback, and open-source innovation. Despite past missteps, Meta is doubling down on AI and Reality Labs, prioritizing long-term impact. Founders were urged to balance mentorship with independent thinking, closing with a powerful musical performance that echoed the night’s theme: seeking truth in complexity.
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11:30
Spotify has over 5 million listening hours for Acquired, tripled in the last year
14:22
14:22
Spotify's podcast growth was supercharged by a Wall Street Journal article, leading to global listener expansion.
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25:49
Shared listening experiences like Spotify Jam are growing rapidly and helped people stay connected during the pandemic.
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31:23
Spotify values discussion over hasty execution to align the entire music industry.
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39:50
Claude AI has saved significant time in producing Acquired episodes
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46:00
YouTube could be worth half a trillion dollars if separated from Google
51:40
51:40
Starlink has about 3 million subscribers and operates 7,000 satellites, making up two-thirds of all Earth-orbiting satellites.
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57:30
The Eras Tour grossed $1.1 billion, breaking the previous record for highest-grossing tour.
1:06:23
1:06:23
The superpower of entrepreneurs is their initial ignorance
1:10:23
1:10:23
Many wouldn't start a venture if they knew how painful it would be
1:16:45
1:16:45
Glasses will act as AI assistants and project holograms for realistic social presence
1:19:41
1:19:41
The product group quickly built a prototype after deciding to make Meta AI the primary feature.
1:28:18
1:28:18
Learning faster than competitors is the key strategy
1:31:03
1:31:03
Shipping early allows faster learning, especially when use-cases are unclear.
1:44:53
1:44:53
It was a painful year and a half, but the company emerged in great shape.
2:18:57
2:18:57
Learn from others, but do your own thing.
