When Andrej Karpathy first coined the term “vibe coding,” it sounded almost too futuristic to be real. Coding without worrying about syntax? Just saying what you want and having it magically appear?
Turns out, that future is already unfolding. And if you’ve tried the new ChatGPT CLI or worked with modern AI coding copilots, you’ve probably felt it too.
Wait, What Is Vibe Coding Again?
Let’s rewind for a second.
At its core, vibe coding is about describing what you want to build—the functionality, the feel, the intent—and letting an AI figure out the nitty-gritty implementation details. You’re not typing out every function and import; you’re vibing with the machine. You say:
“Make me a dashboard that updates in real-time and feels sleek and intuitive,”
and your AI co-pilot gets to work.
As Karpathy famously put it:
“I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy-paste stuff — and it mostly works.”
(source)
This isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s the new development flow.
Real-World Adoption: Who’s Vibing Already?
Turns out, vibe coding isn’t just a Twitter thought experiment. It’s happening—right now—inside some of the world’s biggest tech companies and scrappiest startups:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Building with a Buddy
AWS rolled out a tool called Amazon Q Developer, designed to be your coding buddy. It can generate boilerplate code, write unit tests, and even do code reviews. Deepak Singh, a VP at AWS, calls this a shift toward “pair programming with AI.”
Read more →
Y Combinator Startups – AI-Coded from the Ground Up
Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, says some of their startups are already running with 95% of their codebase written by AI. Small teams, big output—because developers are focusing on vision, not syntax.
More on that here →
Shopify – AI As a Job Requirement
At Shopify, CEO Tobi Lütke didn’t just suggest using AI—he made it mandatory. AI adoption is baked into performance reviews. Even folks outside of engineering are using AI tools to describe and prototype ideas.
Here’s how →
Replit – Teaching “Vibe Coding 101”
Replit, the browser-based dev environment, now offers a course literally called Vibe Coding 101. The goal? Help you learn how to collaborate with AI agents to ship full applications, fast.
Check out the course →
ChatGPT CLI – Command Line, But Make It Conversational
The new ChatGPT CLI might be the most exciting piece yet. Imagine describing a script or component in plain English, right from your terminal, and having ChatGPT generate it, ready to run. Developers are already using it for everything from bash scripts to React components.
Quick guide →
Looking Ahead: The Future of Vibe Coding
Vibe coding is about to go mainstream. And it’s not just a shift in tools—it’s a shift in how we think about building.
Imagine a world where…
- Designers describe UI experiences and see them rendered instantly.
- Engineers spend less time wiring components and more time steering the vision.
- AIs self-correct, refactor, and even optimize code based on how it’s being used.
As AI continues to evolve, we’ll see tighter feedback loops where you guide, and the AI builds, tests, and even improves what it made—all in real time.
Companies are also getting serious about AI fluency. Uber’s CEO recently said AI literacy will become table stakes—and that everyone in the company needs to get comfortable with it this year.
Here’s that story →
Final Thought
We’re entering a world where you don’t need to be a master coder to bring big ideas to life. With vibe coding, your creativity is the language—and the AI listens.
The future isn’t just developers writing code. It’s humans and AIs vibing together, co-creating products faster than ever before.