AWS re:Invent 2025 - Kiro: Your agentic IDE for spec-driven development (DVT209)

The Evolution of Agentic AI [00:01]

• The shift in AI development is moving from individual plugins within existing IDEs to more integrated agentic IDEs that combine vibe coding with spec-driven development.
• The "agentic mindset" encourages starting with less critical tasks to remove "muck" and free up human developers for more innovative work.
• Gartner suggests that developers leveraging AI will likely outcompete those who do not, highlighting the transformative impact of AI integration.
• The concept of "atomic agents," smaller, specialized agents that can be combined for complex tasks, is emerging as a more efficient approach than relying on single, large models.

"The companies that we've seen to be the most agentic in nature are starting with the muck."

Curo: An Agentic IDE [11:25]

• Curo is an agentic IDE designed to bridge the gap between vibe coding and traditional spec-driven development, accelerating the software development lifecycle.
• It has significantly improved iteration speed at AWS, allowing product managers to embed within teams and refine specs in hours rather than weeks.
• The introduction of an AI IDE has accelerated development at AWS, with Amazon acting as a crucial testbed for refining internal tools.
• Curo is now also available as a command-line interface (CLI), expanding its accessibility to users who may not have a full IDE installed.

"Instead of teaching um developers or anyone how to interact the technology, we should have the opposite approach."

Delta Airlines' Agentic Journey [16:18]

• Delta Airlines focuses on creating the best possible customer and developer experiences, aligning with the vision of agentic AI roadmaps.
• They emphasize building autonomy and agentic architecture through trust, starting with Q developer (coding assistance) and scaling to the Curo IDE.
• Delta adopted a "dev champions" model to scale AI adoption, leveraging technically sound individuals to influence and train their developer community.
• A personal anecdote illustrates how quickly children are adopting AI, with a 7-year-old daughter asking to use ChatGPT for math problems, highlighting the rapid advancement and familiarity with AI.

"We would like to provide the best tools and technology for our developers so that we can reduce their friction and improve their innovation every day."

The Power of Spec-Driven Development with Curo [24:43]

• Curo entered Delta's workflow to address the need for AI that understands business context, governance, and compliance, moving beyond simple code generation to feature-level output.
• Pilot users found Curo capable of understanding complex codebases, extracting business logic, and breaking down requirements into executable tasks, producing production-ready code.
• Curo facilitates architectural decision-making by acting as a "soundboard" for architects to validate designs and approaches.
• The spec-driven development feature in Curo breaks down requirements into design and tasks in a simple three-step process: lock requirements, Curo builds design, and Curo provides tasks, with the developer remaining in control.

"The most important thing we started seeing that Ko with the help of Kro we are able to pro build production ready code."

Transforming Workflows with Curo [28:39]

• Curo transformed backlog grooming sessions into "Curo spec design sessions," allowing teams to refine requirements and generate user stories and features more efficiently.
• Business product owners without coding experience successfully used Curo to generate working prototypes, significantly reducing the time from concept to handover from quarters to days.
• Curo bridges the gap between business and technology teams by enabling them to communicate in the same language through visual prototypes and shared understanding.
• Developer feedback highlights Curo's ability to remember context, provide direction, generate code based on existing codebase context, and break down technical designs with full repository context.

"The deliverables are no longer tied to the size of the team that they are not no longer proportionate. Smaller teams are starting to deliver the biggest outcome with the leveraging tools like Kira."

Curo Demo and Future [40:31]

• The Curo IDE is a full-featured environment purpose-built for AI agent development, offering both spec and vibe coding options.
• Key features include context management tools, model selection (including auto mode for cost optimization), steering files for guidance, and "Curo Powers" for advanced MCP capabilities.
• A demo showcased Curo's ability to generate a requirements document, design, and tasks for a customer support agent, integrate with Jira, and automate updates based on code changes.
• The CLI version of Curo provides a more manual, hands-on environment for developers who prefer that interaction style, with rapid daily updates and new features.

"My job is to describe Curo to you and I'm learning things from people because it's just so fast that it's coming out."