A newsletter by Ken Yeung

The AI
Economy

A sharp, curated look at the stories that reveal how AI is rewriting business, work, technology, and culture.

Ken Yeung

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What you get

Built for people who work with AI, not just read about it.

Reported, not aggregated

Enterprise AI coverage from a journalist who covered the space before “generative AI” was a mainstream phrase. Sourced, contextual, with a point of view.

Platform strategy focus

Beyond the product announcements. Analysis of how AI is restructuring enterprise workflows, editorial operations, and the economics of content at scale.

Written for practitioners

Not for the hype-chasers. For the people who have to act on it.

Archive

Every issue.

All issues published to date. New issues arrive every week.

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  1. Issue

    Adobe Firefly Unlocks Custom Models for Public Beta, Letting Creators Own Their Style

    This year, Adobe Firefly turns three, and it looks very different from its public beta launch. What started as a hub for the company’s generative models has evolved into something broader: a platform that brings together both Adobe and third-party models, giving creative professionals a single place to choose the right engine for the job. […]
  2. Issue

    AWS Launches Kiro Students to Give College Developers Free Access to Its AI Coding Tool

    Amazon Web Services is aiming to make AI-powered software development easier for early-stage developers. On Wednesday, it debuted Kiro Students, a new plan giving college students free one-year access to Kiro, AWS’s vibe coding tool. However, there is a catch: it comes with a 1,000 monthly credit limit and will initially be available only to […]
  3. Issue

    Snowflake Unveils Project SnowWork to Turn Enterprise Data Insights into Action

    Snowflake is taking a major step forward as a data platform company, launching a new product called Project SnowWork. It’s an autonomous enterprise AI platform that extends AI beyond the firm’s foundation and insights layers, helping users get work done. As a “proactive AI collaborator,” it provides responses grounded in data within the Snowflake platform. […]
  4. Issue

    Ai2 Rethinks Robotics Training With a Simulation-First Approach to Physical AI

    Researchers at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) say they’ve achieved a breakthrough in physical AI: zero-shot sim-to-real transfer. This milestone allows robotic models trained entirely in simulation to perform tasks in the real world without requiring any real-world data, making it significantly easier to move knowledge from virtual training to actual robots. To mark […]
  5. Issue

    Zendesk Acquires Agentic Startup Forethought to Push Customer Service Towards Autonomous Agents

    As Zendesk seeks to reshape the customer service landscape, it is betting that artificial intelligence will soon handle the majority of service interactions. To accelerate that shift, the company announced plans to acquire the AI startup Forethought. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a Zendesk spokesperson revealed it is an all-cash acquisition […]
  6. Issue

    New Salesforce Agentforce Contact Center Unifies AI, CRM, and Telephony to End Disjointed Service Calls

    Salesforce is pressing ahead with its plan to weave AI agents into every corner of sales and marketing. Its latest move is Agentforce Contact Center, a new agentic customer service platform blending all avenues of communication with AI and an enterprise-grade CRM. With it, organizations can better predict their customer’s needs using real-time access to […]
  7. Issue

    How GrubIQ Gives Franchise Owners a Smarter Edge in Restaurant Operations

    Picture a first-time franchise owner eager to open a restaurant despite having little to no operational experience. While the franchiser may help them secure a location and finalize the paperwork, once the doors open, any meaningful guidance can be hard to find. The fact is that many owners enter the business without a clear understanding […]
  8. Issue

    ServiceNow Puts AI in the Driver’s Seat With Autonomous Workforce and EmployeeWorks

    The time for piloting AI in the enterprise is over. Businesses now “need AI that gets work done.” That’s the message from ServiceNow President and Chief Product and Operating Officer Amit Zavery, who says companies are demanding measurable gains in productivity and ROI at scale. In response, ServiceNow is announcing its Autonomous Workforce—AI specialists capable […]
  9. Issue

    Adobe’s Quick Cut Automates the Video Grind, Keeping Creators Inspired

    Adobe is introducing a new feature aimed at easing the post-production workload for video creators. Launching today in the Adobe Firefly video editor, Quick Cut uses AI to assemble clips into a structured timeline, giving creators an instant first cut to refine—no more debating over how to manually piece together footage. “We designed Quick Cut […]
  10. Issue

    AWS Launches Strands Labs as a Sandbox for Exploring Autonomous AI

    Last summer, Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced Strands Agents, an open-source SDK that lets developers build and run AI agents with just a few lines of code. The project has since gained momentum, exceeding 14 million downloads. And now, the company is introducing its next step: Strands Labs, a new GitHub organization aimed at helping […]

Peer review

What the AIs say.*

We asked the leading AI tools to weigh in on The AI Economy. Their ratings speak for themselves. (Results may vary depending on training data and general disposition toward newsletters.)

Claude — Anthropic

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“[Its] strength lies in its ability to cover both technical developments and business implications of AI, making it valuable for a wide audience ranging from tech enthusiasts to business executives.”

ChatGPT — OpenAI

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“Expertly combines in-depth interviews and industry analysis, making it a must-read for AI enthusiasts and professionals.”

Gemini — Google

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“Provides valuable insights and analysis, making it a great resource for anyone interested in AI.”

Copilot — Microsoft

★★★★★

5.0

out of 5

“A sharp, reporter‑caliber intelligence brief for the AI era—fast, authoritative, and genuinely ahead of the curve.”

* Disclaimer: My newsletter has not been actually endorsed by OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic. I solicited reviews from their respective gen AI services. Sounded cool though, huh?

Questions

Common questions.

  1. What is The AI Economy?

    A newsletter covering consumer and enterprise AI, platform strategy, and the companies reshaping how work gets done. Reported, not aggregated — written by a technology journalist who has covered the space since before generative AI was a mainstream phrase.

  2. How often does it publish?

    Enough to keep you ahead, never enough to clutter your inbox. You'll also get first-look coverage and original interviews whenever the story is worth your time—which, lately, is often. Nothing filler-grade goes out under this masthead. A weekly roundup is delivered Fridays on LinkedIn.

  3. Is it free?

    Yes. Every issue is free. Subscribe on Substack and it arrives in your inbox. No paywall, no premium tier. If that changes, subscribers will be notified well in advance.

  4. How is this different from other AI newsletters?

    The AI Economy explores the people building AI and the reasons behind what they build. I'm interested in how enterprise teams are actually deploying AI, where the editorial and operational models are breaking down, and what platform-level shifts mean for practitioners making decisions this quarter. It is written for people doing the work, not watching it from the outside. My goal is to not focus just on what's being announced, but why it exists and why we should care. The stories are what you'd expect to read on Inc. and First Round Review or see on "60 Minutes."

  5. Can we pitch you stories?

    Yes, I do accept embargoed news and exclusives. Please reach out with your announcements, launches, and story ideas—email me or use this form. I also accept tips securely via Signal at @kenyeung.888.

  6. Where can I read past issues?

    The full archive is listed above on this page. All issues are also available on Substack. The plan is to host the canonical archive here on thelettertwo.com as the publication grows — independent of any platform.

  7. Can I republish or cite content from the newsletter?

    Yes, with attribution. Short excerpts with a link back to the original issue are fine. For longer republication or syndication, reach out via LinkedIn.

The AI Economy

AI Moves Fast. I Separate Signal From Spin.

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