아마존의 AI 파워 플레이: Kiro Pro+ 1년 무료로 받기

The Hook: Amazon Wants to Buy Your Love (Or At Least Your Code)

In a bold move to capture the hearts and keyboards of developers, Amazon has announced a massive giveaway for its new AI coding assistant, Kiro. Announced at AWS re:Invent 2025, the tech giant is offering a free year of Kiro Pro+ credits to eligible VC-backed startups.

This isn’t just a polite “try me” trial; it’s an aggressive play to unseat incumbents like GitHub Copilot and the current darling of the AI coding world, Cursor. If you’re a startup founder or CTO, Amazon just made your tooling decision a lot more interesting.

The Offer: What’s on the Table?

The deal is straightforward but significant. Amazon is providing 12 months of Kiro Pro+ access at no cost.

• Who is eligible? The program is specifically targeting VC-backed startups. This suggests Amazon is looking to lock in the next generation of unicorns early.
• What do you get? Full access to Kiro Pro+, which includes their advanced AI coding features, higher usage limits, and enterprise-grade security controls.
• Deadline: Applications are open until the end of 2025, so there is time, but the early bird gets the productivity boost.

What is Kiro?

For those who haven’t been tracking every new AI tool, Kiro is Amazon’s answer to the AI-assisted development environment. It’s built to be a secure, reliable AI IDE that focuses on shipping maintainable code.

Key features include:

• Deep AWS Integration: Naturally, it plays very well with the AWS ecosystem, making it a strong contender for teams already heavy on Amazon’s cloud.
• Security First: Amazon is pitching Kiro as the “safe” option, emphasizing data privacy and security—a major concern for enterprises that are wary of sending their IP to third-party AI models.
• Context Awareness: Like its competitors, Kiro understands your codebase to provide relevant suggestions, refactoring, and debugging help.

Why Now? The Battle for the IDE

The timing is no coincidence. The market for AI coding tools is heating up. Cursor has been eating everyone’s lunch with its smooth UX and powerful features, while GitHub Copilot remains the standard for many.

Amazon knows that once a dev team settles into a workflow, it’s hard to pry them away. By offering a free year, they are removing the friction of cost and encouraging teams to give Kiro a serious test drive. It’s a classic “loss leader” strategy: get them hooked on the ecosystem, and the AWS bills will follow.

Buying Advice: Should You Switch?

If you are a VC-backed startup, there is absolutely no reason not to apply. Even if you are happy with your current setup, having a free year of a premium tool as a backup or for specific projects is just good business.

• If you are on AWS: Kiro is likely to offer productivity gains that generic tools can’t match when dealing with AWS infrastructure.
• If you are worried about IP: Kiro’s security-first approach might satisfy your legal team more than some of the faster-moving startups.
• If you love Cursor: Give Kiro a try. Competition breeds innovation, and you might find features in Amazon’s tool that surprise you.

You can apply for the program through the Kiro for Startups page.