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

Subscribe free → Browse issues ↓

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.

Open on Substack ↗
  1. Issue

    Vibe Coding Is Here to Stay, but Human Oversight Remains Critical

    The tech industry embraced vibe coding in 2025, as software development became one example of how artificial intelligence can disrupt professions. Instead of traditional line-by-line hand coding, developers can now instruct a bot to code an application through an intent-driven prompt. Vibe coding startups like Lovable have attracted tremendous investor interest, reaching unicorn status in […]
  2. Issue

    Slack’s New AI Slackbot Is Less About Chat and More About Running the Workplace

    Slack bills itself as “where work happens.” Lately, the Salesforce-owned company has been working hard to make that slogan more literal, rolling out features designed not just to speed up how work gets done, but also to keep workers in the app for longer periods. On Tuesday, Slack reinforced that positioning with the general availability […]
  3. Issue

    Shopify and Google Develop New Open Protocol That Could Make AI Shopping Ubiquitous

    Shopify and Google are betting on agentic commerce, and to make it work, the two have jointly developed a new protocol that lets AI agents discover products, browse options, and complete purchases on a user’s behalf—all from a chat. The new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open-source standard that permits agents to connect with […]
  4. Issue

    Ai2 Releases Molmo 2, an Open Video Model That Outperforms Qwen 3, GPT-5, and Gemini 2.5 Pro While Knowing Where the Action Happens

    Ai2 has unveiled Molmo 2, the latest iteration of its open-source vision-language model (VLM). Arriving over a year after the original, this state-of-the-art update brings the most notable upgrades yet: support for multiple images and video, and grounding. The next-generation Molmo can now count and track objects or actions within videos. And just like its […]
  5. Issue

    Adobe Firefly Adds Video Tools, FLUX.2 Model, and Unlimited Generations Through Jan. 15

    Adobe is closing out 2025 with a fresh slate of AI upgrades designed to make video creation and editing easier for creators. On Tuesday, the company is upgrading the availability of its Firefly video editor, along with announcing new tools for precise edits and camera-motion control, a video upscaling feature in Firefly Boards, and support […]
  6. Issue

    How Shopify Is Turning AI Into a Strategic Advantage for Merchants

    Shopify’s Winter 2026 release is here with over 150 new features for merchants, but the centerpiece is a sweeping suite of AI tools designed to do more than automate tasks. From a rebuilt Sidekick AI to agentic storefronts that help sellers control how their brand appears in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, Shopify is betting […]
  7. Issue

    Adobe Puts Photoshop, Express, and Acrobat in ChatGPT, Signaling a Shift Toward Conversational Creativity

    Adobe is making it easier to use its software without installing it. On Wednesday, the company announced that its popular apps—Photoshop, Express, and Acrobat—can now run natively within OpenAI’s ChatGPT for free. The move gives Adobe access to ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly users, extending its apps’ reach and potentially attracting new subscribers. Pam Clark, Adobe’s […]
  8. Issue

    Glean Debuts Enterprise Autonomous Agents Built on Deep Organizational Context

    Glean is expanding its agentic portfolio with autonomous agents it claims are the first built specifically for the enterprise. These bots leverage organizational context to make decisions, adjust their decisions as circumstances change, and function within established governance rules. The startup asserts they’re designed to support employees rather than replace them. “Most ‘agents’ in the […]
  9. Issue

    Zendesk Says AI ARR Could Hit $400M to $500M in 2026

    As the customer service software market undergoes a seismic shift driven by artificial intelligence, Zendesk is positioning itself at the epicenter of transformation. Three years after Tom Eggemeier succeeded co-founder Mikkel Svane as chief executive, the company has evolved into what it claims is an “AI first” company. Its efforts appear to be paying off, […]
  10. Issue

    AWS Unveils ‘AI Factories’ to Build Sovereign-Grade AI Infrastructure for Governments and Giants

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) has worked with many large companies to develop large-scale AI infrastructure, from Anthropic to Saudi Arabia-backed HUMAIN. Now, the company wants to make it easier for the public sector to access the same capabilities, without the heavy investment. At this year’s re:Invent conference, the tech firm announced the launch of AI […]

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.

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

Join 3,000+ readers gaining practical wisdom.

No spam. Unsubscribe any time.

Read on Substack ↗ Browse all issues ↓