Amazon is directing its engineers to favor its proprietary AI code generation service, Kiro, over tools developed by third parties, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
The memo, posted on Amazon's internal news site, underscores the company's commitment to developing and promoting its own AI capabilities.
"While we continue to support existing tools in use today, we do not plan to support additional third party, AI development tools," the memo stated.
Signed by Peter DeSantis, senior vice president of AWS utility computing, and Dave Treadwell, senior vice president of Amazon eCommerce Foundation, the guidance positions Kiro as the company's recommended AI-native development platform.
"As part of our builder community, you all play a critical role shaping these products and we use your feedback to aggressively improve them," the memo said.
Kiro, launched in July, allows engineers to generate websites and apps using plain English commands, representing Amazon's bid to catch up with rivals like OpenAI and Google in AI development. While Kiro leverages coding tools from Anthropic, it does not specifically rely on Claude Code. The company recently expanded Kiro's availability to a global audience and introduced several new features, reflecting Amazon's push to integrate the tool more fully into its engineering workflows.
The new guidance effectively precludes employees from using popular AI coding tools like OpenAI's Codex, Anthropic's Claude Code, and products from startup Cursor, despite Amazon's significant investments in the sector. The company has invested approximately $8 billion in Anthropic and signed a seven-year, $38 billion deal to provide cloud computing services to OpenAI.
The move comes as Amazon faces criticism for lagging behind competitors in AI innovation, even as AI tools become increasingly central to software development. Third-party coding tools like Codex, Cursor, and Claude Code have become widely adopted among engineers for quickly spinning up new services. Cursor, for instance, was valued at nearly $30 billion following a funding round earlier this month.
Internal memos indicate that Amazon has previously restricted the use of some third-party tools. In October, the company designated OpenAI's Codex as "Do Not Use" after a six-month assessment. Claude Code was also temporarily labeled "Do Not Use," though this decision was reversed after media inquiries.
The trend at Amazon underlines a broader shift in the U.S. tech industry, where companies increasingly develop in-house AI solutions to reduce reliance on external providers. Firms aim to retain greater control over intellectual property, streamline operations, and cut costs associated with outsourcing critical AI capabilities by creating proprietary tools. Industry insiders say the strategy also serves to protect companies from competitive pressures as AI adoption accelerates across sectors.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the memo but declined further comment. Representatives for Anthropic, OpenAI, and Cursor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Amazon's strategy points to a growing emphasis among U.S. tech giants on building internal AI ecosystems rather than relying on third-party technologies as AI tools become essential for software engineering. Analysts see the move as both defensive and strategic, aimed at ensuring long-term competitiveness in an increasingly AI-driven market.