The AI development landscape just got more crowded. Yesterday, Amazon surprised the developer community by launching Kiro, their own AI-powered IDE that’s positioned as a direct competitor to established tools like Cursor, Windsor, Firebase Studio, and GitHub Copilot. We’ve been testing this new IDE extensively, and here’s everything we’ve discovered about Amazon’s latest entry into the AI coding wars.
What Makes Amazon’s AWS KIRO Different?
At first glance, Kiro might look like yet another VS Code fork in an increasingly saturated market. However, Amazon claims their IDE offers something unique: spec-driven development powered by Claude Sonnet 4.0. This approach promises to handle complexity better than existing tools by encouraging developers to think through their requirements before jumping straight into code generation.
We found this methodology refreshing compared to the “generate first, debug later” approach that many AI coding tools seem to encourage. Instead of immediately producing code that might need extensive refactoring, Kiro guides developers through a more structured process.
The Spec-Driven Development Workflow
Here’s how Kiro’s unique approach works in practice:
1. Requirements Documentation
The IDE encourages us to start with a requirements.md file where we define:
- User stories
- Acceptance criteria
- Project scope and constraints
2. Design Phase
Next, we create a comprehensive design document that outlines:
- Component structure
- Testing strategies
- Error handling approaches
- Implementation details
3. Implementation Planning
Finally, these documents combine to create a detailed implementation plan where each task specifies exactly what code the AI should generate.
While this process feels slower initially, we noticed it produces more maintainable code and reduces the back-and-forth iterations typically required with other AI coding tools.
Performance and User Experience
During our testing, we encountered some expected growing pains:
- UI Design: The interface looks polished and modern, though it felt somewhat slower than Cursor
- Missing Features: We noticed the absence of some convenience features like chat checkpoints that we’ve grown accustomed to in other tools
- Server Load: Service delays due to high demand were common during our testing period
These issues are typical for a newly launched product, and we expect Amazon to address them as the platform matures.
The Billion-Dollar VS Code Fork Economy
Kiro’s launch comes at a fascinating time in the development tools market. Recent industry moves include:
- OpenAI’s failed acquisition attempt of Windsor for billions
- Google’s $2.4 billion talent acquisition from the same company
- Cognition (Devon’s creator) swooping in to acquire the remaining assets
This musical chairs scenario highlights how desperately tech giants want to capture developer mindshare in the AI era.
Anthropic’s Market Dominance
The underlying power behind most of these tools is Anthropic’s Claude, which has driven the company’s revenue from under $1 billion to over $4 billion this year. Amazon, as one of Anthropic’s largest investors with $8 billion committed, is clearly leveraging this relationship with Kiro.
This creates an interesting dynamic: while tools like Cursor excel at providing Claude access to developers, they must act as middlemen with pricing constraints. Kiro potentially eliminates this middleman problem, offering more direct access to Claude’s capabilities.
Enterprise-Focused Approach
Unlike consumer-oriented AI coding tools, Kiro feels designed for enterprise environments where:
- Design documentation is mandatory
- Code quality standards are strict
- Team collaboration is essential
- Structured development processes are valued
This positioning could give Amazon a significant advantage in the lucrative enterprise market, especially when guided by strategic product management principles.
Pricing and Availability
Currently, Amazon offers Kiro completely free, making it an obvious choice for developers wanting to experiment with AI-powered coding. However, the long-term pricing strategy remains unclear.
Given Amazon’s history with service pricing and their investment in Anthropic, we expect competitive rates that could pressure existing tools to reconsider their pricing models.
Should You Switch to Amazon’s AWS Kiro?
Based on our testing, here’s who might benefit most from Kiro:
Best For:
- Enterprise development teams
- Projects requiring extensive documentation
- Developers who prefer structured workflows
- Teams building complex, long-term applications
Might Not Be Ideal For:
- Rapid prototyping scenarios
- Solo developers preferring quick iterations
- Projects where speed trumps structure
- Developers comfortable with existing tools
The Future of AI Development Tools
Kiro represents Amazon’s serious commitment to capturing developer mindshare in the AI era. While it’s currently closed-source and Claude-only, Amazon plans to support additional AI models in the future.
The real test will be whether Kiro can maintain its structured approach while improving speed and adding the convenience features developers expect. If Amazon succeeds, we might see other AI coding tools adopting similar spec-driven methodologies.
Our Verdict
Amazon’s AWS Kiro shows promise as more than just another VS Code fork. Its spec-driven approach addresses real problems with current AI coding tools, particularly around code quality and project maintainability.
While early performance issues and missing features prevent us from recommending an immediate switch, the free pricing makes Kiro worth exploring alongside your current development tools.
We’ll continue monitoring Kiro’s development and provide updates as Amazon refines the platform. For now, it’s an intriguing addition to the AI development landscape that could reshape how we think about AI-assisted coding.
Have you tried Amazon Kiro yet? We’d love to hear about your experiences with spec-driven development and how it compares to your current AI coding workflow.