Meta is a company everyone knows (literally, everyone). But, somehow, it’s also a company that few people feel they actually understand. Their products are used by more humans than any other’s in history — almost half of the entire world’s population daily. But… what is Meta? Why do they do what they do? How do they do what they do? Ask ten people and you’ll likely get ten very different sets of answers.
Today, we dive deeper than we’ve ever gone trying to find Acquired’s answers to those questions. And after months of research and 6+ hours of incredible stories about how they (and really “they” being Mark himself) bet it all and win time and time again in the face of overwhelming odds, we arrive at our answers. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, AI, Oculus, Orion, it’s all here. Tune in for one of the greatest corporate stories of all time: Meta, a Mark Zuckerberg Production.
Sponsors:
Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘24 Season partners:
J.P. Morgan Payments
https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMPF243yt
Statsig
https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24
Crusoe
https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoefall24
Huntress
https://bit.ly/acqhuntress
Links:
Please take our 2024 Acquired Survey if you have a minute. It’d mean the world to us!
http://acquired.fm/survey
Worldly Partners: Meta multi-decade study: https://worldlypartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meta-Platforms-1.pdf
Episode sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WpAkeS83tKDhFbGAE_Ifov7FjXaVognwEvClaMXzJZ8/edit?usp=sharing
Our past episodes on:
Instagram
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-2-instagram
WhatsApp
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/whatsapp
Oculus
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-35-oculus
Snapchat
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-12-snapchat
The Snap IPO
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-32-the-snap-inc-ipo
TikTok
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/tiktok
NVIDIA
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/nvidia-the-gpu-company-1993-2006
Microsoft
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft
The Mark Zuckerberg Interview
https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview
Worldly Partners: Meta multi-decade study
https://worldlypartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meta-Platforms-1.pdf
Carve Outs:
Ben Cohen’s piece on NotebookLM
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/google-notebooklm-ai-podcast-deep-dive-audio-c30a06b3
Mr. McMahon
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33301469/
The Dwarkesh Podcast
https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com
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Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions. © Copyright ACQ, LLC
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