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.

Open on Substack ↗
  1. Issue

    Meet AWS Frontier Agents: Autonomous AI That Codes, Secures, and Runs Software

    Amazon Web Services is joining the list of companies embracing agent sprawl in the workplace. Call it whatever you like—the rise of the agentic enterprise or Frontier Firm—tech companies believe the future of work will be one where AI-powered agents will not only aid humans, but simultaneously collaborate with each other. But the world won’t […]
  2. Issue

    Vercel Brings Native AWS Database Support to Supercharge AI-Powered App Development

    Vercel is rolling out native support for Amazon Web Services (AWS) databases, better positioning itself more firmly at the center of the AI-driven app boom and the infrastructure behind it. Starting today, the front-end cloud platform is adding Aurora PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, and Amazon DSQL to its marketplace. The trio joins Prisma, Supabase, MongoDB Atlas, Neon, […]
  3. Issue

    Kyndryl Launches AI Framework to Revitalize Legacy IBM Mainframes

    Kyndryl is betting that AI agents can do what years of modernization efforts haven’t: Move the most entrenched mainframes into a faster, more automated era without disrupting the critical workloads they carry. The company is launching an AI-driven framework built around intelligent agents and its Kyndryl Bridge platform, initially supporting IBM’s z/OS mainframes. “Mainframe teams […]
  4. Issue

    AI Agent Ambition vs. Reality: Enterprises Expect Mass 2027 Deployment, But ‘Sprawl’ and Skills Gaps Keep 97% From Scaling

    If 2025 feels like the year AI agents finally arrived, 2027 may make it look tame by comparison, with analysts projecting an outright surge in enterprise-grade bots. But for now, even as companies adopt these digital workers, their ambitions far outpace their execution; 97 percent have yet to figure out how to scale agents across […]
  5. Issue

    Ai2’s Olmo 3 Offers Advanced Reasoning and Larger Context Windows Without High Costs

    The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Ai2) is rolling out its third-generation open language model, promising top-tier performance without the steep energy demands or hefty infrastructure price tag. The nonprofit AI lab states that the new system, Olmo 3, provides developers with “full visibility and control” across every stage of training, checkpoint, and dataset. “Olmo […]
  6. Issue

    Salesforce Launches New Agentforce Observability Tools to Solve the AI Black Box

    Salesforce is introducing new tools in its Agentforce 360 platform to provide greater transparency, giving enterprises clearer insight into how AI agents behave. The goal: crack open the proverbial black box that has slowed AI adoption and undermined trust. As organizations push to build truly agentic enterprises, the ability to observe and understand these bots […]
  7. Issue

    Luma AI Raises $900 Million From Saudi-Backed HUMAIN

    Luma AI has secured $900 million in new financing in a round led by HUMAIN, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund-backed AI firm. The startup, known for Dream Machine and the Ray model, says the capital will accelerate its work on large-scale World Models. The latest infusion brings Luma’s total funding to more than $1 billion; […]
  8. Issue

    ServiceNow Extends AI Control Tower to Microsoft Tools in Bid to Become AI Traffic Controller

    ServiceNow is strengthening its long-running partnership with Microsoft with a fresh wave of integrations. The company’s AI Control Tower will now connect directly with Microsoft’s AI Foundry and Copilot Studio. ServiceNow is also bringing its AI Experience and Now Assist tools into Microsoft’s productivity apps. And for developers, ServiceNow’s Build Agent communicates with GitHub Copilot. […]
  9. Issue

    Microsoft Launches Agent 365, a Control Plane to Manage and Govern AI Workers at Scale

    Microsoft is unveiling a new platform called Agent 365 that will integrate identity and governance into all AI agents, eliminating the need for it to be done as an afterthought. It extends the infrastructure IT departments use to manage employee access to agents. The first agent powered by this product is Microsoft’s new Sales Development […]
  10. Issue

    Microsoft Brings Agent Mode to PowerPoint and Expands AI in Word and Excel

    Microsoft is bringing its “vibe working” vision to PowerPoint, delivering on a promise it made in September. The company is rolling out Agent Mode in early access through its Frontier program, enabling Copilot to natively assist users in the design and refinement of presentations. With this addition, Agent Mode now spans throughout the Microsoft 365 […]

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?

    No fixed schedule—just coverage when something worth your attention happens. Plus, there's a Friday news roundup that's published exclusively 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?

    Most AI newsletters cover product announcements and funding rounds. The AI Economy focuses on the downstream effects: 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

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