Google and Klarna’s CEOs are Vibe Coding. Should You Be?
Leading CEOs have reported how vibe coding is making experimental coding easier than ever, enabling them to use their own initiative and prompts to code products.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s CEO, said on the Sourcery podcast that using AI to programme allows him to create a prototype in 20 minutes.
The CEO of the Swedish fintech firm said that he has been vibe coding for 20 years but the speed of the work has changed.
What would’ve previously taken a meeting with the tech team and then two weeks of them formulating a prototype, can now be done directly from his desk.
“Rather than disrupting my poor engineers and product people with what is half good ideas and half bad ideas, now I test it myself”, Sebastian told the Sourcery podcast.
He said this approach avoids mix ups when the team’s prototypes don’t align with his vision and saves their time.
Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, has also been vocal about his use of vibe coding, telling Bloomberg it's a casual way to code.
In an interview with The Verge, Sundar said: “The power of the future you’re going to be able to create on the web, we haven't given that power to developers in 25 years.”
Both the execs’ change in the way they work is down to AI programs Cursor and Replit, which have changed the way people approach coding through accessibility and creativity.
Vibe coding: how does it work?
Vibe coding in simple terms describes using an AI coding assistant. But what does that mean?
Unlike traditional coding, which often requires upfront planning and technical precision, vibe coding encourages a more fluid, reactive approach.
You ‘vibe’ your way through the process, typing in suggestions, asking questions and adjusting things in real time as the AI responds and writes code with you.
This style of development is especially powerful for non-technical users as it allows them to describe what they want in plain English and let the AI sort out the rest.
This is what makes platforms like Cursor and Replit so useful for the likes of Google CEOs. Cursor describes itself as an “AI-powered code editor that understands your codebase and helps you code faster through natural language.”
“If you’re a non-technical person, you’ll be way ahead of your peers if you pick up a bit of coding and start fiddling with AI-driven coding environments like Cursor, Replit, etc.” says Paras Chopra, Founder of Lossfunk, in a post on X.
“Coding is a superpower”, he added.
CEO outcomes of vibe coding
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sundar explained how he used Replit, a cloud-based AI programme, to try building a custom web page with all sources of information he wanted in one place.
He shared that more than 30% of the code written at Google is now created with help from AI.
Google launched Firebase Studio, an upgraded version of Firebase that helps developers build and manage apps more easily from start to finish, using this type of code.
According to Google Cloud the platform, powered by Gemini, powers over 70 billion instances of apps everyday.
Why use vibe coding
Taking a vibe coding approach to AI can speed up production by shortening prototyping times, not only saving time but also money. This kind of saving is critical for increasingly time-pressed executives managing multiple workflows.
Sebastian, Klarna CEO, is passionate about the ease of using vibe coding, saying he is “obsessed”.
“It’s exciting to see how casually you can do it now,” Sundar said when talking to Bloomberg, “compared to the early days of coding, things have come a long way.”
