Why this newsletter?
There’s no shortage of AI content. But there’s a massive shortage of AI clarity.
Every week, we get a flood of hype-filled headlines: AI will transform everything, AI will replace all work, AI will change everything overnight. Meanwhile, inside real companies, the story is quieter and more complicated.
Teams are working on AI initiatives. But many projects are getting stuck.
Pilots are everywhere. But few are making it to production.
The tech is moving fast. Organizational readiness is not.
And that gap is where people get stuck.
The AI Edge exists to translate what’s actually happening in the broader technology ecosystem into clear, practical insights you can use inside your organization.
No theory. No fluff. Just what’s real in enterprise AI, what’s changing fast, and what to do about it.
About me
I’m Heena Purohit. I work at Microsoft and sit at the intersection of enterprise leaders, startup innovation, and business transformation.
One part of my job is to partner the best AI startups and help them build, scale, and sell by partnering with the Microsoft ecosystem. The other part is to work directly with enterprise leaders to help them make sense of the AI innovation ecosystem and bridge the gap between AI technology and real business value.
Over the last decade, I’ve built and scaled multiple AI products from 0 to 1, worked across AI strategy and execution, and spent hundreds of hours in conversations with enterprises technology leaders, AI teams, founders, and operators on what it really takes to put AI into production.
I also founded AI for Her, an online community focused on closing the gender gap in AI through community, education, and opportunities for women. Watch my TEDx talk to learn more about the gender gap in AI, and why this problem is worse than ever.
Three things I care deeply about:
Applied AI: I’m not going to get into theoretical AGI debates. The technology available today is already powerful enough to transform industries, operations, and business models. There are real gaps in areas like governance, measurement, data maturity, organizational readiness, and execution discipline. That’s where the real work is.
Becoming AI-first: I believe individuals and leaders need to become AI-first operators. That means using these tools daily, understanding the basics, and being able to point to at least one workflow in your life that you’ve changed because of AI. If you can’t, you are already behind. I want to empower you to become an AI-first version of yourself.
Data-driven: I’m a data nerd. I’m constantly reading the latest news, research, and reporting published. I synthesize them and pressure-test it against what practitioners are actually doing. I triangulate across sources so you get one clear view of what’s working, what isn’t ready, and what to do next.
What you’ll get
Each edition of the AI edge will cover:
What’s real now: what’s actually working in production, backed by evidence
What’s not ready: where the tech, governance, or org maturity breaks down today
What to do next: actionable tactics you can implement in your company
AI-first playbooks: workflows, prompts, and examples you can steal
The numbers that matter: key data points, properly sourced
Candid takes: my clear opinion, not AI slop or analyst copy-paste
Who is this for
I’m writing The AI Edge for you if you are:
Leading AI, data, product, engineering, or transformation initiatives inside an enterprise
A founder selling into enterprise and trying to understand how decisions really get made
An operator who needs AI to drive measurable outcomes, not just demos
A curious learner who wants to work smarter with AI and stay ahead of the curve
My editorial promise
You’ll get writing that is:
Grounded in research on what enterprises are doing now
No hype. No vendor marketing language. No vague claims without the “how”
Clear enough to share with your team
Actionable enough to apply immediately
Honest about tradeoffs, risk, and what breaks in production.
Respectful of your time: high signal, delivered concisely
If I can’t explain it simply, I won’t publish it yet.
Join in
If you want to stay ahead of enterprise AI without living on social media or reading 20 reports a week, you’re in the right place.
Subscribe to The AI Edge to learn about what’s really happening in enterprise AI and how you can apply it to your work.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
PS: I’m just getting started and would love your feedback. Tell me what you’re working on, what’s stuck, and what you want me to cover next.
If something in The AI Edge isn’t useful, tell me. Thumbs up, thumbs down, or a short sentence explaining what you actually need. All of it helps.
Reply to any edition. I read all of them.
