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.

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

    Adobe’s Creative Tools Arrive in Gemini as Acrobat Joins Claude

    As promised, Adobe has brought professional-grade tools from Photoshop, Lightroom, Express, and Firefly to Google Gemini, putting them within reach of the chatbot’s more than one billion monthly users. Gemini users describe what they want to create in plain language, and Adobe handles the work, picking the right tools and applying the edits without anyone […]

  2. Issue

    Okta Launches Blueprint Alliance to Set Standards for Securing Enterprise AI Agents

    Unsanctioned agents. Borrowed credentials. Agents exceeding orders. These are the things that keep enterprise security teams up at night. Software vendors have shipped tools to rein them in, but Okta argues those efforts are piecemeal. It’s like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. That’s why on Wednesday at its annual Oktane conference, the […]

  3. Issue

    Handshake’s AI Skills Studio Turns Free AI Training Into Hiring Evidence

    In June, Handshake, the self-described “career network for the AI economy,” acquired the AI-native learning platform Uplimit. Handshake said it was the first step in building a skills studio that connects skill development to career opportunities. Today, that learning hub is now open and free for any job seeker looking to reskill or upskill to […]

  4. Issue

    AWS Launches Strands Harness, an Agent That Brings Its Own Everything but the Model

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a new tool for developers. On Monday, the company released its Strands harness, a ready-to-run agent that can search the web, run commands, edit files, remember what it did yesterday, and hand off work to helper agents. The only thing that’s missing is the intelligence to direct it. That’s the […]

  5. Issue

    HubSpot Puts Breeze Assistant in Charge of Its AI Agents

    HubSpot knows workers use multiple AI agents, but they don’t have time to manage them or even figure out which one best suits the job. So, to make things easier, the company this week decided to put its newly upgraded Breeze Assistant in charge, empowering it to coordinate other agents on the HubSpot platform. In […]

  6. Issue

    Live Blog: Dreamforce 2026—the Agentic Enterprise Gets Real

  7. Issue

    AWS Makes Quick’s Desktop App Generally Available

    Amazon Web Services has released a new way for enterprise customers to use its Quick AI assistant. On Thursday, the company announced that a desktop version is now generally available, offering another way to use it beyond the browser. This app also gives the AI more context by pulling in work-related information stored on the […]

  8. Issue

    Salesforce Unveils ‘Trusted Enterprise AI Harness’ to Give AI Agents Business Context

    Salesforce built its business on human users, but over the past couple of years, it’s been building for the digital ones. Since launching Agentforce in 2024, the company has invested in helping customers become what it calls “agentic enterprises”—firms where autonomous agents work alongside human employees. On Thursday, Salesforce introduced the latest step in its […]

  9. Issue

    Botsitting, Botshitting, and the Hours AI Never Gave Back

    We’re being bombarded by tech companies hyping the transformation of the workforce, which they contend no longer consists solely of human-to-human collaboration but also of human-to-AI agent collaboration. It’s the era of the agentic enterprise or the proliferation of Frontier Firms—whichever marketing label you prefer. Yet, despite all the pronouncements that AI agents will accelerate […]

  10. Issue

    AWS Scales Its Free Student Coding Program 12x, From 11 Universities to 132

    Amazon Web Services is expanding its free student coding program twelvefold. On Tuesday, the company opened Kiro for Students to 121 more universities across 18 countries. It’s a jump from the 11 campuses it started with in the U.S. and Canada. Students at all 132 schools need only a university email and a one-minute SheerID […]

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.

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