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

    Vibe Coding ClawBeat: How AI Helped Me Launch My First Real App

    They say that “the first step is always the hardest.” It’s the thought that tends to surface whenever I begin something new—photography, writing, or a skill I’m not sure I’m ready to learn. The hesitation is real. But after taking the leap, the floodgates open, and chances are you might find your next passion. Take […]
  2. Issue

    Developers Can Now Tap Slack’s Real-Time Data With RTS API and MCP Server

    Developers looking to ground their AI agents in live workplace data can now tap Slack’s real-time search (RTS) API and its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Months after being announced, the two developer tools are now generally available. When incorporated, agents can leverage project conversations, team knowledge, business decisions, and other Slack data to inform […]
  3. Issue

    Glean Assistant Evolves to Give Every Employee a Proactive AI Coworker

    Glean is transforming what a personal AI coworker can do in the enterprise. Less than three months after its last update, the company is rolling out what it calls a “generational step-change” to its Glean Assistant, giving employees a proactive partner that doesn’t just surface insights—it anticipates tasks, organizes work, and executes actions across the […]
  4. Issue

    Ai2 Launches AutoDiscovery to Analyze Datasets and Break Science’s Ideation Bottleneck

    Scientific progress has long followed a familiar arc: form a hypothesis, design an experiment, test, and repeat. But when dealing with sprawling datasets, the bottleneck isn’t in collecting information. It’s deciding where to look. Ai2 is betting that artificial intelligence can automate that decision. The nonprofit AI lab has introduced AutoDiscovery, an open-source experimental tool […]
  5. Issue

    Okta Moves to Rein In Shadow AI Agents Inside the Enterprise

    Okta is moving to provide enterprise IT teams with clearer visibility into the AI agents operating within their organizations—especially those not officially approved. With its new Agent Discovery capability inside its Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) offering, the company aims to shed light on so-called shadow AI, flagging emerging risks before they escalate, and help […]
  6. Issue

    One in Two Venture Capital Dollars Went to AI in 2025, Largely Concentrated in San Francisco

    Investors aren’t showing restraint when it comes to AI. According to new data from Crunchbase and HumanX, AI companies pulled in $211 billion in venture capital last year—an 85 percent jump from 2024. Put differently: One out of every two VC dollars went into AI. The money isn’t evenly spread. Unsurprisingly, it’s heavily concentrated in […]
  7. Issue

    Salesforce Tracks OpenClaw, Seeing Lessons for AI Agents

    Salesforce is paying close attention to the development of OpenClaw, betting that technology enabling AI agents to operate computers autonomously could fundamentally change how enterprise software is used, automated, and scaled. The company believes these sophisticated bots can add significant value, but warns that it’s critical to harness this power correctly and ensure the right […]
  8. Issue

    UserTesting Uses AI to Turn Figma Prototypes Into Live User Tests

    Designers now have a new way to build user experience testing directly into their Figma workflows. UserTesting, a customer experience research platform, has released an AI-powered plugin for the popular design app that turns Figma prototypes into live user tests in minutes. Designers simply describe their prototype and the task they want users to complete, […]
  9. Issue

    Claude Code Becomes the Engine Behind ServiceNow’s Vibe Coding Agent

    ServiceNow is upgrading its Build Agent, shifting the coding assistant to run by default on Anthropic’s Claude Code instead of the general-purpose Claude model. This change gives users access to a language model purpose-built for software development, better suited to handling coding tasks and application logic when building production-grade apps and agents. This move is […]
  10. Issue

    Ai2 Challenges the Status Quo in Coding Agents with SERA, an Open-Source Model Built for Specialization and Scale

    Coding agents are everywhere. What was once a handful of experimental tools has become a crowded field spanning GitHub (Copilot), OpenAI (Codex), Google (Jules), Anthropic (Claude Code), AWS (Kiro), Vercel (v0), Salesforce (Agentforce Vibes), and a growing roster of startups, each promising to change how software gets written. Now, nonprofit AI lab Ai2 is entering […]

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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