Long-form research on AI, markets, data, and economic systems, written for practitioners who need to think clearly, not just stay informed.
The research practice at Frontier Labs produces original analysis at the intersection of data, technology, and society. We write about the mechanisms that matter, not the headlines.
Our pieces are long, dense, and designed to be reread. We prioritize precision over accessibility, and directness over diplomacy. The goal is not to summarize what's happening, it's to give you a framework for thinking about what it means.
The work draws from quantitative analysis, primary source research, and first-principles reasoning across economics, machine learning, and market structure. We write it for people who are building, investing, or deciding, not for general audiences.
All published research is available on the Frontier Labs Substack. New pieces go out when they're done, not on a schedule. If you want to read what we've already written, or get notified when something new comes out, that's where to find it.
Read on Substack →These are the lenses we bring to every piece, the frameworks we've found most generative for understanding how things actually work.
Not the hype, the structural changes. How AI is reshaping labor markets, data economics, competitive dynamics, and what "software" means.
How data creates moats, how it's valued wrong, and the coming shift in how companies think about their data assets versus their product.
Competition, aggregation, and pricing power in technology markets. Why winner-take-most dynamics are less stable than they appear.
Where capital goes, why, and whether it's going to the right places. The incentive structures of venture, and what they optimize for.
How technology is reshaping the distribution of economic gains, and what the data actually shows versus what the narratives claim.
The feedback loops between how we build technology and how it changes the social and institutional environments we build it in.