Apple and Anthropic Partner on ‘VibeCoding’ Platform: Here’s What It Is and How It Works

Apple Inc. is set to build a new “vibe-coding” software platform with Anthropic PBC that will utilise AI to write, revise and test code for programmers, Bloomberg reported.

The system is reportedly a new version of Xcode (Apple’s programming environment) that will incorporate Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet model. Apple plans to deploy the software internally and has not yet decided whether to release it publicly.

Vibe coding is an approach that leverages large language models (LLMs) to generate code from natural-language descriptions rather than by writing it manually.

This initiative showcases how Apple is employing AI to optimise its internal workflows, with the aim of accelerating and modernising product development. The strategy resembles those of companies like Windsurf and Anysphere (creator of Cursor), both of which offer advanced AI coding assistants popular among developers.

Vibe Coding Explained

Vibe coding is an AI-driven programming practice in which a developer communicates the desired functionality in plain language, a concise prompt to an LLM fine-tuned for code generation. The LLM then produces working source code, shifting the developer’s role from writing every line manually to guiding the AI, reviewing its output and iteratively refining the results.

In essence, you “vibe” with the AI, providing prompts and instructions while it translates your commands into working code.

This approach lowers the barrier to software creation, enabling even non-technical individuals to build applications without deep expertise in specific languages or frameworks.

The term “vibe coding” was coined by Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI and former Tesla AI director, in an X post. He called it a fresh approach to coding where you “go with the flow, embrace rapid growth and barely think about the code itself.” The term quickly gained popularity and was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a slang & trending noun by March 2025.

Use Cases of Vibe Coding

Primarily there are two major use cases for vibe coding: 'democratisation of development' and 'improved efficiency in start-up functionality.'

Vibe coding is revolutionising software development by democratising access to software creation. This approach lowers the barrier to entry for those without traditional coding backgrounds, enabling them to build applications and scripts without learning complex syntax.

While responding to a comment on his X post, Karpathy said, “The amount of LLM assist you receive is clearly some kind of a slider. All the way on the left you have programming as it existed about three years ago. All the way on the right you have vibe coding. Even though vibe coding hasn’t reached its final form yet, I’m still doing way too much.”

Varun Mohan, CEO of Windsurf, predicts that software roles will evolve from “developers” to “builders,” emphasising idea orchestration over boilerplate writing. The democratisation of development through vibe coding opens opportunities for individuals in various fields to bring their ideas to life through software.

Similarly, vibe coding also improves the overall efficiency of start-ups. AI coding platforms like Windsurf (formerly Codeium) report that 25% of Y Combinator start-ups generate over 95% of their code via AI prompts, signalling a widespread embrace of vibe coding for rapid prototyping.