The guy who coined 'vibe-coding' says the next big thing is 'agentic engineering'

The term 'vibe-coding' has just marked its first anniversary, a significant milestone in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. The creator of this concept, Andrej Karpathy, is now introducing a new term: 'agentic engineering.' While vibe-coding refers to the process of humans guiding AI to generate code, agentic engineering signifies a leap forward where AI agents autonomously write code themselves. In a recent post on social media platform X, Karpathy explained that the term 'agentic engineering' encapsulates not only the capability of AI agents but also emphasizes the artistry, science, and expertise involved in this innovative practice. Vibe-coding has emerged as one of the most transformative advancements during the AI boom, garnering support from various industry leaders and startup founders who are promoting its adoption among their teams. Investment in vibe-coding ventures is surging, with notable examples including Lovable, a rapidly expanding European startup that secured $330 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $6.6 billion in December. Another player, Cursor, an AI-enhanced code editor, announced a staggering $2.3 billion in Series D funding last November and revealed that it had surpassed $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. However, the rise of these technologies also raises concerns about their impact on traditional engineering roles. A survey conducted by Business Insider among 167 software engineers revealed a mixed response: 75 engineers felt they were keeping pace with the changes, 30 believed they were ahead, and 27 felt they were falling behind. Karpathy humorously noted on X that vibe-coding has even earned a place on his Wikipedia page as a significant 'memetic contribution,' reflecting its rapid ascension in the tech landscape. As a founding member of OpenAI and a former leader of Tesla's Autopilot program, Karpathy is now embarking on a new venture with Eureka Labs, which aims to create an educational environment that is inherently aligned with AI advancements.