Amazon Directs Engineers to Use Its Own AI Coding Tool, Sidelining Competitors

Amazon Directs Engineers to Use Its Own AI Coding Tool, Sidelining Competitors

Amazon is steering its engineers away from popular third-party AI coding tools in favor of its homegrown alternative, Kiro, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters. The directive marks a strategic shift as the tech giant works to establish its presence in the competitive AI development landscape.

What's Behind Amazon's Internal AI Tool Push

The memo, posted on Amazon's internal news site, clearly states the company's new stance: "While we continue to support existing tools in use today, we do not plan to support additional third party, AI development tools." This guidance effectively blocks Amazon employees from adopting popular coding assistants like OpenAI's Codex, Anthropic's Claude Code, and the rapidly-growing startup Cursor.

The timing is particularly notable given Amazon's significant financial relationships with these very companies. The company has invested approximately $8 billion into Anthropic and struck a seven-year $38 billion cloud services deal with OpenAI.

Key Takeaways:

• Kiro's Growing Scope: Amazon's proprietary AI coding tool, launched in July, recently expanded to a worldwide audience with enhanced features
• Strategic Positioning: The move appears designed to counter Amazon's reputation for lagging behind competitors like OpenAI and Google in AI development
• Market Competition: Third-party tools like Cursor have gained massive traction, with the startup recently valued at nearly $30 billion

What This Means for Developers

Kiro functions as a code generation tool that creates websites and applications using plain English commands. While it incorporates elements from Anthropic's technology, it represents Amazon's attempt to build a comprehensive, in-house AI development ecosystem.

The memo, signed by senior executives Peter DeSantis and Dave Treadwell, positions this as a collaborative effort: "As part of our builder community, you all play a critical role shaping these products and we use your feedback to aggressively improve them."

This internal directive reflects broader industry trends where tech giants are prioritizing their own AI tools over external alternatives, potentially reshaping how developers approach AI-assisted coding.

🔗 Read the full article on Reuters