Vibe coding: The future of software creation in the age of AI

Vibe coding - a term coined recently, by Andrej Karpathy (cofounder, OpenAI), in Feb 2025, has become more than just a trend within months. It has become the light at the end of tunnel for those without coding abilities, giving them superpowers to create their own applications and solve user problems.

At a recent panel at AICon 2025, we explored how AI coding agents are transforming the way startups, SMEs, and enterprises build software. The discussion focused on how to create dream products quickly while adopting the latest understanding of technologies like white coding.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest AI content and insights. Connect with us on LinkedIn, X, Telegram, WhatsApp, TGB website.

Panelists:

We had leaders with expertise in enterprise AI adoption, community-led growth, founder ecosystems, AI-powered business applications and education, and hands-on AI coding tools for both vendors and users. We saw interesting perspectives from these leaders:

• [Moderator] Vidushan Premathiratne (Founder, 8 Circle)

• David Yam (Solutions Architect, Alibaba Cloud)

• Darryl Wong (Director, Nexius Labs, Daisy)

• Vinod Narayanankutty (Practice lead, Insight)

• Shivang Gupta (CEO, The Generative Beings)

Key insights:

• Acceleration & Democratisation: AI agents are a game changer in rapid prototyping. Founders and builders no longer need a CTO to get started; for just $20/month, you can take your idea from concept to live product within hours. The coding “language” is rapidly shifting to English, opening up product creation to anyone, including non-developers. Among the standout tools: Codex, Plot code, Cursor, Lovable, Gold, Captain AI, and Chat and Build.

• Enterprise Restructuring & Process Focus: Larger organisations are seeing 20-30% productivity gains and transitioning into a more “agentic” operating model. The emphasis has shifted to restructuring teams - combining subject matter experts with collaborators who work alongside AI agents. Importantly, integrating AI without first fixing flawed processes only makes those flaws accelerate. Well-designed processes must come first.

• Validation Over Perfection: For startups and early-stage products, the priority should always be validation - ensure someone will pay even $10/month for your solution. Get that attractive front-end live and focus on customer need before investing heavily in backend stability and security.

• The Validation Gap & Security: While AI can generate code fast, it often isn't fit for enterprise production or security standards. Real developers still need to work through, format, and adapt AI-generated code for production, following enterprise guidelines. QA and security teams are irreplaceable - you cannot trust the agent blindly, just as you should never trust a human coder without review.

• Technological Shift: The essential skill is moving from “prompt engineering” to “context engineering” - knowing how to feed the right context to AI agents during prototyping and development. With the huge size of AI coding models today, cloud infrastructure is now essential for processing and integrating codebases.

Q&A with speakers:

Q: How are AI coding agents transforming development for founders and startups?

A (Shivang): "AI agents are speeding up the development cycle. Founders no longer need to find a CTO or co-founder months ahead; now, for about $20/month, you can get your idea launched as a live website in a matter of hours. This shift empowers business owners to use simple English to create front-end experiences and workflows."

Q: What is the primary role of AI coding for Singapore’s SMEs?

A (Daryl): "Most SMEs use standard accounting or inventory software that doesn't fit exact needs. AI now lets them write code to create mini-apps that augment these solutions - solving specific problems without a full rebuild."

Q: For enterprises, how is AI adoption shifting, and what should be the first step?

A (Vinod): "The move is toward the agentic operating state. Enterprises should rethink team structures, pairing domain expertise with agentic workflows. Begin with your target impact (quality improvements, reduction in defects). Remember, a bad process only gets worse with faster automation, so refine your process before layering on AI."

Q: Is AI code ready for enterprise production?

A (David): "AI coding is a massive accelerator but not a direct route to enterprise-grade software. Code generated for prototyping isn’t secure or robust enough for production; developers must adapt and fit it to established standards."

Q: If AI increases velocity, can QA and security teams be reduced?

A (Vinod): "No. Security measures, including QA, security teams, and scanning tools, are essential. Trust neither agent nor developer blindly."

Shivang’s perspective on Vibe coding:

Democratising Product Building:

• AI coding agents have removed a major hurdle for founders: lacking technical skills is no longer a blocker

• Anyone can now create and ship live products just by typing instructions in English

The Evolution of Coding Language:

• Coding isn't disappearing; it’s transforming. “English is the next coding language” - this makes product building truly accessible

Community-Led Growth as the New Narrative:

• The future of growth is through communities

• Every successful AI tool or company builds in public on Discord or Slack, sharing openly and getting vulnerable with their customers

Leveraging Community Expertise:

• Those who have mastered AI coding tools are the best guides for newcomers

• Showcasing these community experts accelerates adoption and understanding for non-devs

Testing for Understanding:

• Today’s product leaders ask non-technical hires to build something on a coding platform, not for the code itself, but to gauge their grasp of problem-solving and process logic

• Copy-pasting isn’t enough; you need to truly understand the workflow

Disclaimer: This summary has been edited and generated with the assistance of AI tools. All interpretations, paraphrasing, and opinions presented are for informational purposes only and should not be considered legally binding or construed as official positions of any panelist, The Generative Beings, or event organizers. Neither the panelists nor TGB nor the organisers accept any responsibility or liability for the content herein.

Become a better being, with generative AI.

— Team Generative Beings