Amazon is quietly working on a new artificial intelligence project called Kiro according to an internal document obtained by Business Insider.
Kiro, developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS), leverages AI agent technology to streamline coding tasks, generate code in near real-time, and offer deeper productivity enhancements. Unlike traditional AI coding assistants that focus primarily on code suggestions, Kiro aspires to create a more immersive, multi-modal development environment.
AWS already offers an AI coding assistant, Amazon Q, but Kiro appears to be a much broader initiative. According to the internal document, Kiro can integrate with both first-party and third-party AI agents, tap into knowledge bases, and work with various extensions and themes tailored to a developer’s workflow.
One standout feature of Kiro is its multi-modal interface, allowing developers to input not only text but also visual diagrams and contextual information. This approach signals a shift toward richer, more flexible ways of building and conceptualizing software.
The tool is reportedly capable of auto-generating technical design documents, flagging potential issues, and offering real-time code optimizations—all aimed at minimizing manual coding work while improving software quality.
In its internal notes, Amazon described Kiro as an opportunity to “reimagine how AI is used to build software at an exponentially faster rate of innovation and higher product quality.”
Amazon’s internal document is notably critical of existing AI coding assistants. It argues that current tools are stuck in “code-centric” interfaces that actually slow down developers by trapping them in traditional workflows.
In contrast, Kiro aims to “democratize software creation,” radically reducing time-to-code and empowering developers to deliver more innovation with less manual effort. If successful, it could mark a significant departure from today’s standard AI-enhanced IDEs like Microsoft’s Copilot.
Amazon’s push comes at a time when the AI coding space is undergoing explosive growth. AWS CEO Andy Jassy recently emphasized the surge of “coding agents” during Amazon’s earnings call, highlighting how tools like Cursor and Vercel are gaining rapid adoption among AWS customers.
Meanwhile, Business Insider reports that both Google and Microsoft have stated that around 30% of their code is now written by AI. Analysts believe the momentum is just beginning. According to Gartner, by 2028, 90% of enterprise software engineers will be using AI coding assistants—up from less than 14% in early 2024.
Industry voices like David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto czar, recently labeled coding assistants as the “first big breakout application of AI,” underscoring their transformative potential for the tech industry.
Despite its ambitions, Amazon’s journey into AI coding has not been without challenges. Early feedback on Amazon Q pointed to high costs and underwhelming performance compared to rivals like Microsoft’s Copilot, according to prior Business Insider reports. However, AWS says it has made improvements, citing companies like Deloitte and ADP that have reported productivity gains.
With Kiro, Amazon hopes to overcome those early hurdles. The new tool is designed to handle common integration tasks—such as setting up Stripe payment gateways—with minimal developer input. Its goal is to enable a future where developers “read less but comprehend more, code less but build more, and review less but release more,” according to Amazon’s internal vision.
While the company initially targeted a late June 2025 launch for Kiro, it remains unclear whether that timeline remains on track.
If Kiro succeeds, it could be one of Amazon’s most important moves yet in AI-driven software development, marking a shift from simply assisting developers to redefining the very nature of software creation.
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