Huawei didn’t just build networks. It built the backbone of China’s rise.
From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei’s climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.
At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.
He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.
Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.
This is the story of Huawei — how one man’s obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.
Episode 1: Master Switch
Shenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.
Episode 2: Cost of Speed
When the People’s Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.
Episode 3: Eyes of the State
Huawei’s surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it’s not just watching — it’s watching for China.
Episode 4: Honour and Glory
Huawei’s mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.
Episode 5: Final Connection
Cut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn’t fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.
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Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
Huawei didn’t just build networks. It built the backbone of China’s rise.
From a scrappy startup in 1980s Shenzhen to a global tech titan, Huawei’s climb has rattled the West, redrawn alliances, and redefined what a Chinese company can do.
At the center is Ren Zhengfei. Ex-soldier, engineer, and survivor.
He never planned to take on the world. But the world came for him anyway.
Through sanctions, surveillance and accusations of espionage, Huawei always bounced back stronger.
This is the story of Huawei — how one man’s obsession with technology turned into a battle over power, politics, and the future of global tech.
Episode 1: Master Switch
Shenzhen, 1987. Ren Zhengfei starts Huawei with limited cash, no tech of his own, and everything to prove. To survive, he builds not just a product — but a system. A culture of hunger, obsession, and unrelenting speed.
Episode 2: Cost of Speed
When the People’s Liberation Army comes calling, Huawei gets its first big break. But with military contracts come new scrutiny, and Ren learns that loyalty has a price.
Episode 3: Eyes of the State
Huawei’s surveillance tech becomes essential at home — powering cities, borders, and entire regions. But abroad, it triggers alarm. As the company expands globally, critics warn it’s not just watching — it’s watching for China.
Episode 4: Honour and Glory
Huawei’s mobile division takes aim at the global market — but the launch is rocky. Delays, bugs, and fierce competition threaten to sink it. Still, Ren doubles down, betting everything on the dream of a Chinese-made smartphone empire.
Episode 5: Final Connection
Cut off, cornered, and branded a threat to national security, Huawei doesn’t fold. It doubles down. Rewriting software, rebuilding chips, the world can no longer ignore them.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
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We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.
Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.
He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.
He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.
This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.
Episode 1: Foundations
Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.
Episode 2: Sugar Rush
Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.
Episode 3: Sugar Crash
To move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia’s first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.
Episode 4: The Sugar King
To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he’s built before it slips away.
Episode 5: Shangri-La
Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
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Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
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Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
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We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
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Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.
Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.
He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.
He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.
This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.
Episode 1: Foundations
Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.
Episode 2: Sugar Rush
Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.
Episode 3: Sugar Crash
To move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia’s first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.
Episode 4: The Sugar King
To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he’s built before it slips away.
Episode 5: Shangri-La
Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.
Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.
He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.
He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.
This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.
Episode 1: Foundations
Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.
Episode 2: Sugar Rush
Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.
Episode 3: Sugar Crash
To move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia’s first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.
Episode 4: The Sugar King
To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he’s built before it slips away.
Episode 5: Shangri-La
Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.
Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.
He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.
He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.
This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.
Episode 1: Foundations
Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.
Episode 2: Sugar Rush
Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.
Episode 3: Sugar Crash
To move beyond importing sugar, Robert sets his sights on building Malaysia’s first refinery. But foreign partners try to box him in. In response, he rewrites the rules - mastering policy, strategy, and global trading - until the Kuok name commands respect from London to Kuala Lumpur.
Episode 4: The Sugar King
To control sugar from source to shelf, Robert ventures into Indonesia and strikes a deal with a powerful, but unpredictable, ally. But as politics sour, he must fight to hold onto the empire he’s built before it slips away.
Episode 5: Shangri-La
Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.
Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.
He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.
He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.
This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.
Episode 1: Foundations
Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.
Episode 2: Sugar Rush
Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.
Episode 3: Sugar Crash
From the Prai refinery to international futures trading, Kuok becomes the “Sugar King of Asia.” But when prices collapse, survival demands more than just strategy. It demands reinvention.
Episode 4: Shangri-La
Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.
Episode 5: China Inc.
With Deng Xiaoping’s Open Door, Robert Kuok walks straight in. From luxury hotels to Wilmar’s agribusiness boom, he builds a bridge between China and the world — and prepares the Kuok legacy for its next generation.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
SoftBank’s Vision Fund made history with its $100 billion war chest, backing game changing companies from Uber to TikTok.
But Masa’s ambition doesn’t stop there. SoftBank is already looking ahead, aiming to shape the future of generative AI and its infrastructure.
In this special bonus episode, we dive into the next decade of SoftBank’s strategy. Specifically, how they’re positioning themselves to dominate AI infrastructure, from massive data centers to edge computing.
We break down the role of ARM, the rise of AI processing on the edge, and how AlphaSense insights can deepen your understanding of SoftBank’s daring strategies.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.
The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn’t just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.
But every empire comes at a price.
This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world’s biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.
Episode 1: Impress, Charm and Deceive
A young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.
Episode 2: The SoftBank Miracle
Back in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan’s software industry.
Episode 3: Every Piece of Them
Masa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.
Episode 4: Widening the Net
After the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan’s telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.
Episode 5: Warchest
Determined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.
The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn’t just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.
But every empire comes at a price.
This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world’s biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.
Episode 1: Impress, Charm and Deceive
A young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.
Episode 2: The SoftBank Miracle
Back in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan’s software industry.
Episode 3: Every Piece of Them
Masa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.
Episode 4: Widening the Net
After the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan’s telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.
Episode 5: Warchest
Determined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.
The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn’t just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.
But every empire comes at a price.
This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world’s biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.
Episode 1: Impress, Charm and Deceive
A young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.
Episode 2: The SoftBank Miracle
Back in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan’s software industry.
Episode 3: Every Piece of Them
Masa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.
Episode 4: Widening the Net
After the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan’s telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.
Episode 5: Warchest
Determined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.
The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn’t just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.
But every empire comes at a price.
This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world’s biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.
Episode 1: Impress, Charm and Deceive
A young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.
Episode 2: The SoftBank Miracle
Back in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan’s software industry.
Episode 3: Every Piece of Them
Masa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.
Episode 4: Widening the Net
After the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan’s telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.
Episode 5: Warchest
Determined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
From 1UpMedia, Empires is an immersive storytelling that dives deep into the history of the most successful businesses in Asia.
Every Monday, you'll learn the history of its leaders, the decisions that have rippled across the industry, and the factors that allowed them to become the empire's that they are today.
Empires is available on all major streaming platforms.
SoftBank has backed some of the most game-changing startups of our time — Uber, Grab, TikTok — companies that reshaped how we move, eat, and connect.
The man behind it is Masayoshi Son — a founder unlike any other. Bold, fearless, and sometimes reckless, Masa didn’t just invest in companies, he devoured them. His empire stretched from Tokyo to Silicon Valley, built on billion-dollar bets, wild risk-taking, and the unshakeable belief that he could see the future before anyone else.
But every empire comes at a price.
This is the story of SoftBank — how one man from Japan took on the world’s biggest tech giants, gambled billions, lost it all… and came back for more.
Episode 1: Impress, Charm and Deceive
A young Masayoshi Son hustles his way through Silicon Valley — using every trick in the book...and outside it.
Episode 2: The SoftBank Miracle
Back in Japan, Masa builds SoftBank from nothing — surviving betrayal, bankruptcy, and even a terminal illness to become the king of Japan’s software industry.
Episode 3: Every Piece of Them
Masa goes global — buying tech magazines, trade fairs, Yahoo shares, and placing a life-changing bet on a then-unknown Chinese startup: Alibaba.
Episode 4: Widening the Net
After the Dot-Com Crash wipes out 96% of his wealth, Masa bets everything on broadband and mobile — taking on Japan’s telecom giants and winning control of Vodafone Japan.
Episode 5: Warchest
Determined to rule the future, Masa creates the $100 billion Vision Fund — a war chest so powerful it could turn founders into billionaires overnight — even if their companies were never built to last — all while setting his sights on Artificial Intelligence.
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
STAR TV has 800 million monthly viewers in India, but it was never meant to.
When media tycoon Richard Li launched the STAR TV network in 1991, his eyes were set on China, with India barely an afterthought. But one unexpected partnership changed everything. Over the decades, STAR would battle rivals, reinvent Indian television, and ultimately become a Disney portfolio company.
This is the story of STAR TV - its meteoric rise, bitter betrayals, and ultimate transformation into a media empire commanding over 800 million viewers.
Episode 1: The Beginning of the End
Richard Li dismisses India, but a rice farmer-turned-businessman, Subhash Chandra, forces STAR TV to take a second look, setting off a chain of events that will upend the country’s media landscape.
Episode 2: The Star That Burned Too Bright
Rupert Murdoch takes over STAR TV and wages war on Zee. Desperate to localize, STAR launches its own Hindi programming, igniting a fierce battle.
Episode 3: Who Wants to Be a Deca-millionaire
With Zee dominating prime time, STAR takes its biggest gamble yet—adapting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for Indian audiences. The stakes? 10 million rupees per episode. (USD$114,450)
Episode 4: Black Hole
Success breeds chaos. As STAR dominates television, internal conflicts and power struggles threaten to consume the empire from within.
Episode 5: Darkest Skies, Brightest Stars
With STAR on the brink, a former journalist named Uday Shankar steps in. His unconventional approach will not only save the company, but turn it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
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Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
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Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
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We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
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Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
STAR TV has 800 million monthly viewers in India, but it was never meant to.
When media tycoon Richard Li launched the STAR TV network in 1991, his eyes were set on China, with India barely an afterthought. But one unexpected partnership changed everything. Over the decades, STAR would battle rivals, reinvent Indian television, and ultimately become a Disney portfolio company.
This is the story of STAR TV - its meteoric rise, bitter betrayals, and ultimate transformation into a media empire commanding over 800 million viewers.
Episode 1: The Beginning of the End
Richard Li dismisses India, but a rice farmer-turned-businessman, Subhash Chandra, forces STAR TV to take a second look, setting off a chain of events that will upend the country’s media landscape.
Episode 2: The Star That Burned Too Bright
Rupert Murdoch takes over STAR TV and wages war on Zee. Desperate to localize, STAR launches its own Hindi programming, igniting a fierce battle.
Episode 3: Who Wants to Be a Deca-millionaire
With Zee dominating prime time, STAR takes its biggest gamble yet—adapting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for Indian audiences. The stakes? 10 million rupees per episode. (USD$114,450)
Episode 4: Black Hole
Success breeds chaos. As STAR dominates television, internal conflicts and power struggles threaten to consume the empire from within.
Episode 5: Darkest Skies, Brightest Stars
With STAR on the brink, a former journalist named Uday Shankar steps in. His unconventional approach will not only save the company, but turn it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
STAR TV has 800 million monthly viewers in India, but it was never meant to.
When media tycoon Richard Li launched the STAR TV network in 1991, his eyes were set on China, with India barely an afterthought. But one unexpected partnership changed everything. Over the decades, STAR would battle rivals, reinvent Indian television, and ultimately become a Disney portfolio company.
This is the story of STAR TV - its meteoric rise, bitter betrayals, and ultimate transformation into a media empire commanding over 800 million viewers.
Episode 1: The Beginning of the End
Richard Li dismisses India, but a rice farmer-turned-businessman, Subhash Chandra, forces STAR TV to take a second look, setting off a chain of events that will upend the country’s media landscape.
Episode 2: The Star That Burned Too Bright
Rupert Murdoch takes over STAR TV and wages war on Zee. Desperate to localize, STAR launches its own Hindi programming, igniting a fierce battle.
Episode 3: Who Wants to Be a Deca-millionaire
With Zee dominating prime time, STAR takes its biggest gamble yet—adapting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for Indian audiences. The stakes? 10 million rupees per episode. (USD$114,450)
Episode 4: Black Hole
Success breeds chaos. As STAR dominates television, internal conflicts and power struggles threaten to consume the empire from within.
Episode 5: Darkest Skies, Brightest Stars
With STAR on the brink, a former journalist named Uday Shankar steps in. His unconventional approach will not only save the company, but turn it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
STAR TV has 800 million monthly viewers in India, but it was never meant to.
When media tycoon Richard Li launched the STAR TV network in 1991, his eyes were set on China, with India barely an afterthought. But one unexpected partnership changed everything. Over the decades, STAR would battle rivals, reinvent Indian television, and ultimately become a Disney portfolio company.
This is the story of STAR TV - its meteoric rise, bitter betrayals, and ultimate transformation into a media empire commanding over 800 million viewers.
Episode 1: The Beginning of the End
Richard Li dismisses India, but a rice farmer-turned-businessman, Subhash Chandra, forces STAR TV to take a second look, setting off a chain of events that will upend the country’s media landscape.
Episode 2: The Star That Burned Too Bright
Rupert Murdoch takes over STAR TV and wages war on Zee. Desperate to localize, STAR launches its own Hindi programming, igniting a fierce battle.
Episode 3: Who Wants to Be a Deca-millionaire
With Zee dominating prime time, STAR takes its biggest gamble yet—adapting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for Indian audiences. The stakes? 10 million rupees per episode. (USD$114,450)
Episode 4: Black Hole
Success breeds chaos. As STAR dominates television, internal conflicts and power struggles threaten to consume the empire from within.
Episode 5: Darkest Skies, Brightest Stars
With STAR on the brink, a former journalist named Uday Shankar steps in. His unconventional approach will not only save the company, but turn it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts?
Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
-
If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
STAR TV has 800 million monthly viewers in India, but it was never meant to.
When media tycoon Richard Li launched the STAR TV network in 1991, his eyes were set on China, with India barely an afterthought. But one unexpected partnership changed everything. Over the decades, STAR would battle rivals, reinvent Indian television, and ultimately become a Disney portfolio company.
This is the story of STAR TV - its meteoric rise, bitter betrayals, and ultimate transformation into a media empire commanding over 800 million viewers.
Episode 1: The Beginning of the End
Richard Li dismisses India, but a rice farmer-turned-businessman, Subhash Chandra, forces STAR TV to take a second look, setting off a chain of events that will upend the country’s media landscape.
Episode 2: The Star That Burned Too Bright
Rupert Murdoch takes over STAR TV and wages war on Zee. Desperate to localize, STAR launches its own Hindi programming, igniting a fierce battle.
Episode 3: Who Wants to Be a Deca-millionaire
With Zee dominating prime time, STAR takes its biggest gamble yet—adapting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for Indian audiences. The stakes? 10 million rupees per episode. (USD$114,450)
Episode 4: Black Hole
Success breeds chaos. As STAR dominates television, internal conflicts and power struggles threaten to consume the empire from within.
Episode 5: Darkest Skies, Brightest Stars
With STAR on the brink, a former journalist named Uday Shankar steps in. His unconventional approach will not only save the company, but turn it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
-
Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
-
Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarised by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
-
Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
-
We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
-
Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
Tiktok's parent company Bytedance, is the world's most valuable Startup.
With an ecosystem spanning short-form video, news aggregation, and artificial intelligence, ByteDance’s influence stretches far beyond its roots in China. Today, the company’s flagship app TikTok stands as a cultural phenomenon, captivating billions of users across continents and redefining how content is created, shared, and consumed.
This is the story of ByteDance, driven by the relentless vision of Zhang Yiming. From its humble beginnings as an app factory producing memes and news aggregators, ByteDance would go on to challenge titans like Tencent and Facebook, navigating fierce competition, regulatory hurdles, and cultural resistance to become a global empire.
Episode 1: Clickbait and Addiction
Zhang Yiming discovers that the secret to building fast-growing apps lies in mastering the science of clickbait and addiction.
Episode 2: Today’s Headlines
ByteDance hit it's first major success with Toutiao, the news app that redefined personalisation and propelled the company into the spotlight.
Episode 3: Earthquake and Shockwave
ByteDance shakes up China’s tech scene with Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), spearheading the short-form video revolution before Tencent joins the battle.
Episode 4: Sayonara and Ni Hao
ByteDance perfects its strategy in Japan, then Asia, laying the groundwork for global domination.
Episode 5: Gold Rush
ByteDance storms into the U.S. by acquiring Musical.ly, rebranding it as TikTok. Leveraging its proven strategies, TikTok quickly becomes America’s top app.
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Our series is proudly sponsored by AlphaSense.
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Access expert analyst reports, perfectly summarized by Gen-AI with precision and no hallucinations. Support our productions by booking your free trial today.
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Want to showcase your brand to listeners with a combined net worth of over $1 billion and a network of 100,000+ employees and industry contacts? Drop us an email: sales@1upmediapodcast.com
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We're looking to grow our team! Support our productions by buying us a coffee.
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Want to meet the team? Follow me here!
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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:
📝💕 "Post, Love", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On Spotify/ Apple)
🔪🩸 "Heinous", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On Spotify/Apple)
