Empires - An Asian Business Podcast

Apple changed how we use technology. Grameen changed how the poor use money. From one man’s frustration in famine-stricken Bangladesh to a global revolution in microcredit, Muhammad Yunus turned a $27 experiment into one of the world’s most powerful engines of poverty reduction. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Banks refused him. Bureaucrats mocked him. Critics swore the poor could never repay loans...

Apple changed how we use technology. Grameen changed how the poor use money. From one man’s frustration in famine-stricken Bangladesh to a global revolution in microcredit, Muhammad Yunus turned a $27 experiment into one of the world’s most powerful engines of poverty reduction. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Banks refused him. Bureaucrats mocked him. Critics swore the poor could never repay loans...

Apple changed how we use technology. Grameen changed how the poor use money. From one man’s frustration in famine-stricken Bangladesh to a global revolution in microcredit, Muhammad Yunus turned a $27 experiment into one of the world’s most powerful engines of poverty reduction. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Banks refused him. Bureaucrats mocked him. Critics swore the poor could never repay loans...

Apple changed how we use technology. Grameen changed how the poor use money. From one man’s frustration in famine-stricken Bangladesh to a global revolution in microcredit, Muhammad Yunus turned a $27 experiment into one of the world’s most powerful engines of poverty reduction. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Banks refused him. Bureaucrats mocked him. Critics swore the poor could never repay loans...

Apple changed how we use technology. Grameen changed how the poor use money. From one man’s frustration in famine-stricken Bangladesh to a global revolution in microcredit, Muhammad Yunus turned a $27 experiment into one of the world’s most powerful engines of poverty reduction. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Banks refused him. Bureaucrats mocked him. Critics swore the poor could never repay loans...

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. - 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 c...

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. - 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 cli...

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. - 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...

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. - 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...

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. - 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 h...

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 Beijin...

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 Beijin...

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 Beijin...

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 Beijin...

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 Beijin...

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...

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 ris...

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 ris...

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 ris...

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 ris...

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 ris...

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 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 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...