About this episode
For our first episode of Season 5, Acquired returns to Shenzhen to cover another Chinese technology giant, this one slightly... different from our past subjects: Huawei. From a backwater importer of PBX switches to the world’s second largest handset manufacturer and near-undisputed leader in 5G infrastructure technology, Huawei’s ascent over the past 30 years has been nothing short of spectacular, equaled only by the spectacular fireworks of recent events surrounding the company. What’s the story behind this global telecom giant, and what does its future portend for global tech and US - China relations? We dive in. Sponsors: Rippling: https://bit.ly/acquiredrippling Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25 Odd Lots: https://bit.ly/acquiredoddlots ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn More Acquired! Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes Join the Slack Subscribe to ACQ2 Merch Store ! © Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC Links Ren Zhengfei on Bloomberg TV: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-26/billionaire-huawei-founder-defiant-in-face-of-existential-threat Who owns Huawei? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3372669 Carve Outs Ben: Billions: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4270492/ David: Dune by Frank Herbert: https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert-ebook/dp/B00B7NPRY8/ref=nodl