Decoding AI at the 100 Milestone: Substack Bestseller
Published on 09.04.2026
The 100 Milestone: A Thank You to the Decoding AI Community
TLDR: Decoding AI has reached 100 paid subscribers, earning a Substack Bestseller badge. Rather than celebrate the badge, the author takes the moment to thank everyone who keeps the publication going—both paid subscribers and free readers.
Substack gives you a "Bestseller" badge when you hit certain milestones, and while the badge is nice, it's the moment itself that matters more. Reaching 100 paid subscribers means 100 people decided to fund technical AI research and long-form analysis. In a media landscape flooded with hype and promotional content, that's significant.
The philosophy behind Decoding AI has always been clear: keep most content free because the primary goal is accessibility. Technical AI knowledge shouldn't be gated behind paywalls that only well-funded engineers can afford. This means the paid tier isn't about creating scarcity or hiding content; it's about sustainability. The people who upgrade are funding deeper research, longer analysis, and hours of thinking that don't have immediate commercial value. They're investing in the intellectual infrastructure of the AI community.
The author is explicit about what this means: those 100 paid subscribers are funding the late nights and the deep dives. They're enabling the kind of research and writing that doesn't fit neatly into product announcements or marketing narratives. They're saying "I value this work enough to support it directly."
But the thank you extends beyond paid subscribers. Free readers are equally important. A publication only has impact if it's being read, shared, and challenged. The free tier readers who engage with articles, share them with colleagues, and push back on ideas are part of the community that makes the work worthwhile.
This moment also serves as a reset. Having thanked everyone, the author is getting back to the actual work: technical deep dives, research, and the kind of analysis that got the publication to this point in the first place.