On Thursday, May 16, 2025, Windsurf made headlines by launching a trio of AI models built specifically for software engineering (SE). In a bold move that blends precision with personality, Windsurf announced SWE-1, SWE-1-lite, and SWE-1-mini a custom suite designed to support the entire SE pipeline, from initial planning to final deployment. And no, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill AI assistants that just spit out lines of code. Windsurf’s AI for SE has been purposefully designed to understand, navigate, and optimize real-world software development workflows complete with the chaos and curveballs.
AI Models for SE Goes Public
This launch came just weeks after OpenAI finalized a $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf, according to Bloomberg on May 2, 2025. Despite the merger, Windsurf’s decision to build in-house AI tools suggests it’s ready to own the tech stack, not just the app layer.
By rolling out its own AI for SE, Windsurf now controls:
- Customization: Models trained on domain-specific dev data
- Performance tuning: Optimized for software workflows
- Cost: Lowered dependency on third-party models like GPT-4 or Claude 3.5
How SWE-1 Stacks Up Against Competitors?
Windsurf’s SWE-1 software engineering AI model compares against Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4.1, and Gemini 2.5 Pro. Although, has not yet achieved the status of newer models such as Claude 3.7 Sonnet. SWE-1 has potential. However, Windsurf recognizes it needs to improve if it is to compete with top models. This evaluation demonstrates both advancement and continued challenges as Windsurf continues to work on its AI for software engineering or SE. It also reflects the competitive market that drives innovation. Whereas, small incremental improvements make a significant difference to developers who use AI to improve productivity and accuracy.
SWE-1 vs The AI Titans: Feature Showdown
| Feature | SWE-1 (Windsurf) | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4.1 (OpenAI) | Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google) |
| Release Date | May 16, 2025 | March 2024 | April 2024 | February 2025 |
| Code Understanding | Deep SE context | High | Very High | Moderate |
| Speed (Avg Token/s) | ~70 tokens/s | ~65 tokens/s | ~50 tokens/s | ~60 tokens/s |
| Fine-Tuned For SE | Yes (End-to-End) | No (General Use) | No (General Use) | No (General Use) |
| Cost Efficiency | 30% cheaper to serve | Moderate | Expensive | Expensive |
| Best Use Case | Agile/DevOps SE teams | General tasks | Coding + general | Broad usage |
| Access Tiers | Lite/Mini = Free | Paid only | Paid | Paid |
What This Means for AI and Developers?
Windsurf has a feature that helps software developers write and edit code using conversations with an AI chatbot. This type of coding is called “vibe coding.” Other well-known vibe-coding startups include Cursor, the largest, and Lovable. Most of these startups, like Windsurf, have used AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to fuel their applications historically. These AI features help make development more convenient and smart, making debugging, documentation, and collaboration easier. With real-time recommendations and chat-like interfaces, vibe coding is transforming how engineers debug, making their jobs easier, faster, and even more enjoyable in different coding contexts.
Vibe Coding But Upgraded
Whether you’re an experienced developer or a time-strapped intern, Windsurf’s decision to create its own AI for software engineering tools is a indication of things to come. While the tech giants fight to be first with AI, Windsurf is reminding everyone that coding is not all about typing, it’s also about the feel. With a specific focus on control, collaboration, and imagination, Windsurf is allowing developers to do more than automate, it’s allowing developers to create new ideas. This change suggests a future where software engineering is not about strict rules, but loose interactions that let developers work smarter, faster, and with more freedom than ever before.
