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

    Salesforce Brings Slack and Agentforce Into Claude to Let AI Work Where Users Already Are

    Salesforce and Anthropic are back with new integrations that make it easier for enterprise workers to use their preferred AI tools on the job. Today’s announcements build on a longstanding partnership between the two tech firms, dating back to 2024. Teams can now use Slack’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) App directly in Claude, transforming the […]
  2. Issue

    With Prompted Playlist, Spotify Wants AI to Understand the Moment, Not Just the Genre

    Sitting down to write this article, I found myself thinking about the music that would put me in the right frame of mind to tell this story. My usual go-to playlist often does the job, but sometimes the moment calls for something more tailored. I know the feeling I’m chasing—but pinning it down by artist, […]
  3. Issue

    Adobe Acrobat Now Turns PDFs into Presentations, Podcasts

    Adobe is doubling down on artificial intelligence in Acrobat, aiming to expand what’s possible with PDFs. Using natural language prompts, users can now turn these digital documents into entirely new formats, from presentations to podcasts. This update builds on Adobe’s broader push to modernize PDFs for the AI era. Last summer, the company introduced Acrobat […]
  4. Issue

    JWX Acquires AI Video Startup Aug X Labs, Folding Augie Studio Into Its Enterprise Media Stack

    Aug X Labs, the creator of AI-powered video app Augie Studio, has been acquired by video technology firm JWX. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal includes the full retention of Aug X Labs’ team, with co-founders Jeremy Toeman and JT White moving into executive roles once the deal closes. In addition, because JWX […]
  5. Issue

    A More Human Way Into Vibe Coding—and Chris Pirillo Is Testing It Live

    When Chris Pirillo showed his 11-year-old daughter Google Gemini one day, it didn’t take her long to have it code a game to help her learn multiplication. “She wasn’t weighed down with the idea that she couldn’t do it. She just assumed she could—and she did. She identified her problem, and she solved it,” he […]
  6. 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 […]
  7. 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 […]
  8. 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 […]
  9. 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 […]
  10. 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 […]

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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