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

    How GrubIQ Gives Franchise Owners a Smarter Edge in Restaurant Operations

    Picture a first-time franchise owner eager to open a restaurant despite having little to no operational experience. While the franchiser may help them secure a location and finalize the paperwork, once the doors open, any meaningful guidance can be hard to find. The fact is that many owners enter the business without a clear understanding […]
  2. Issue

    ServiceNow Puts AI in the Driver’s Seat With Autonomous Workforce and EmployeeWorks

    The time for piloting AI in the enterprise is over. Businesses now “need AI that gets work done.” That’s the message from ServiceNow President and Chief Product and Operating Officer Amit Zavery, who says companies are demanding measurable gains in productivity and ROI at scale. In response, ServiceNow is announcing its Autonomous Workforce—AI specialists capable […]
  3. Issue

    Adobe’s Quick Cut Automates the Video Grind, Keeping Creators Inspired

    Adobe is introducing a new feature aimed at easing the post-production workload for video creators. Launching today in the Adobe Firefly video editor, Quick Cut uses AI to assemble clips into a structured timeline, giving creators an instant first cut to refine—no more debating over how to manually piece together footage. “We designed Quick Cut […]
  4. Issue

    AWS Launches Strands Labs as a Sandbox for Exploring Autonomous AI

    Last summer, Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced Strands Agents, an open-source SDK that lets developers build and run AI agents with just a few lines of code. The project has since gained momentum, exceeding 14 million downloads. And now, the company is introducing its next step: Strands Labs, a new GitHub organization aimed at helping […]
  5. 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 […]
  6. 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 […]
  7. 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 […]
  8. 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 […]
  9. 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 […]
  10. 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 […]

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

AI Moves Fast. I Separate Signal From Spin.

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