Kite: An AI-Powered Code Assistant
Kite was a startup that utilized AI to assist developers in writing code. From 2014 to 2021, it made significant efforts in this domain. The goal of Kite was to deliver an AI-assisted programming experience. However, it faced challenges. One of the main issues was that the technology was not yet ready to provide the required 10× improvement in developer productivity. Despite building an advanced AI for this purpose, the state of the art for ML on code was not sufficient. This is evident when comparing it to similar tools like Github Copilot. Another challenge was the business model. The product failed to monetize, as individual developers were not willing to pay for it. Engineering managers also had specific requirements for new capabilities that Kite did not fully meet. Despite these setbacks, the team behind Kite made remarkable progress. They built a world-class engineering team, developed the product, and grew the user base to 500,000 monthly-active developers with almost zero marketing spend. After realizing the challenges, the team explored pivoting the business to code search, but due to exhaustion after seven years of intense work, they decided to find a soft landing. Overall, Kite's journey highlights the difficulties and complexities of bringing an AI-powered code assistant to the market. It also showcases the courage and dedication of the team, as well as the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in the tech industry.
