Rephonic
Artwork for Acquired
IKEA
Visa
Ingvar Kamprad
Microsoft
Acquired Podcast
Sweden
Personal Computers
Windows 95
Mars Incorporated
Costco
LVMH
Parenting
IBM
Meta
Poland
Germany
AI
JP Morgan Payments
Mastercard
Open Systems Interconnection

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes211Founded10 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
InvestingBusinessTechnology

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Artwork for Acquired

Latest Episodes

Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALS... more

Trader Joe's breaks every rule of modern retail. They don't do e-commerce. They don't do delivery. No sales, coupons, or loyalty programs. They only stock 4,000 SKUs versus 50,000+ at normal supermarkets. Their parking lots are famously terrible and ... more

YouTube

Google faces the greatest innovator's dilemma in history. They invented the Transformer — the breakthrough technology powering every modern AI system from ChatGPT to Claude (and, of course, Gemini). They employed nearly all the top AI talent: Ilya Su... more

It’s finally here! Today we are releasing Acquired’s first “concert film” — the full video recording of our Radio City live show from this summer with Jamie Dimon, Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Barry Diller, and cameos... more

YouTube

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan
JPMorgan
Episode: Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)
Meredith Kopit Levien
CEO of the New York Times
New York Times
Episode: Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)
Barry Diller
Media Mogul
IAC
Episode: Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Financial Journalist
New York Times
Episode: Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)
Morris Chang
Founder of TSMC and semiconductor industry pioneer
TSMC
Episode: TSMC Founder Morris Chang
Daniel Ek
CEO and founder of Spotify
Spotify
Episode: Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Emily Chang
Host at Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Episode: Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO of Meta
Meta
Episode: Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)
Jensen Huang
CEO of NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Episode: Acquired LIVE from Chase Center (with Daniel Ek, Emily Chang, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg)

Hosts

Ben Gilbert
Co-host and producer, engaging audiences with deep insights into business histories and strategies, fostering thorough discussions.
David Rosenthal
Co-host known for his ability to bring engaging narratives to life through detailed research and storytelling.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 13.4k ratings
  • Excellent information about technology companies and famous brands

    I highly recommend the Acquired podcast to anyone interested in learning the history of technology companies and famous brands, and about what makes a business successful. My gateway podcast was "Google: The AI Company" (10/5/2025), and this last month I really enjoyed their past episodes on Google's search engine, Alphabet Inc., Meta, Microsoft, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. Yesterday I finished their excellent Coca-Cola podcast and have many other episodes in my podcast queue, including Disney... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Lisa R - podcast fan
    United States9 days ago
  • Great podcast!

    Just the best!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    zptheman123
    United States11 days ago
  • Trader Joe

    Growing up in SoCal, my parents owned and operated grocery and convenience stores. I grew up with Trader Joe and with Pronto, but never realized they were related. My parents’ stores often competed with Pronto but never with Trader Joe.

    Another great episode. Well researched, great story telling and clearly radiating your endless enthusiasm for discovering the story behind great companies.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    JahShik
    United States11 days ago
  • Great long form

    Love the long form podcasts but they need to tone down the corporate BJing a bit to take it to the ultimate level

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    The real FeAl
    Australia12 days ago
  • Honda Episode

    Love the show. Please consider doing a Honda episode!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Breezzyy3
    United States13 days ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The mix of historical insight with practical applications keeps many listeners coming back for more.
Listeners appreciate the thorough research and storytelling, often describing it as the "best business podcast" available.
The conversational format and depth of content are praised, though some suggest that episodes could be more concise.
Reviews highlight the hosts' ability to make complex topics accessible and engaging, enhancing their understanding of business and technology.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Steve Ballmer Interview
Q: What did you learn from your time at Microsoft that you apply in your current role with the Clippers?
Ballmer mentions the importance of accountability in sports, stating, 'Every 24 seconds, you get a report card, basketball, shot clock.'
The Steve Ballmer Interview
Q: How do you feel about the fact that you are regarded as the father of Microsoft's enterprise business?
Steve acknowledges that while he feels good about it, there are many fathers to the enterprise business, and he regrets losing the consumer muscle along the way.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang
Q: How does Jensen view AI's impact on robotics and self-driving cars?
AI must be kept safe, and we need to ensure that humans remain involved to guide the technology in critical situations.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang
Q: What should companies do when they find product-market fit and begin to grow?
They should seek to serve needs that have not emerged yet and position themselves in zero billion dollar markets where few competitors exist.
Charlie Munger
Q: Have you ever had an investment like BYD where you invested significantly and it grew to a large value?
It's a venture capital type investment, which was a thinly traded public company, and we bought it instead of a traditional VC investment.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Acquired

What is Acquired about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Content is centered around the fascinating origins, growth strategies, and business histories of prominent technology companies and brands. Each episode typically covers various aspects such as branding, marketing strategies, leadership, and significant events that shaped these firms over time. The hosts often engage in deep research, providing insightful anecdotes and expert interviews that offer a rich understanding of how these businesses navigated challenges and became successful in their respective markets. Noteworthy is the extensive exploration of both well-known and niche companies, alongside extensive discussions on trends and methodologies that listeners can apply in their own ventures. The podcast is characterized by its thorough... more

Where can I find podcast stats for Acquired?

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How many listeners does Acquired get?

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What are the audience demographics for Acquired?

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How many subscribers and views does Acquired have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Acquired has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Acquired?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Acquired:

1. All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
2. Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
3. Business Breakdowns
4. a16z Podcast
5. Founders

How many episodes of Acquired are there?

Acquired launched 10 years ago and published 211 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Acquired?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Acquired?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Acquired from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Acquired?

Recent guests on Acquired include:

1. Jamie Dimon
2. Meredith Kopit Levien
3. Barry Diller
4. Andrew Ross Sorkin
5. Morris Chang
6. Daniel Ek
7. Emily Chang
8. Mark Zuckerberg

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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