To date, vibe coding platforms have largely relied on existing large language models (LLMs) to help write code. Windsurf is taking on the challenge with a series of new frontier AI models it calls SWE-1 (software engineer 1) as part of the company’s Wave 9 update. SWE-1 is a family of frontier-class AI models specifically designed to accelerate the entire software engineering process. Available immediately to Windsurf users, SWE-1 marks the company’s entry into frontier model development with performance competitive to established foundation models, but with a focus on software engineering workflows. Anshul Ramachandran, head of product and strategy at Windsurf, said, “The core innovation behind SWE-1 is Windsurf’s recognition that coding represents only a fraction of what software engineers actually do.” Rather than creating a one-size-fits-all solution, Windsurf has developed three specialized models: SWE-1; SWE-1-lite and SWE-1-mini. T he goal is to position SWE-1 as the first step toward purpose-built models that will eventually surpass general-purpose ones for specific engineering tasks — and potentially at a lower cost. What makes Windsurf’s approach technically distinctive is its implementation of the flow awareness concept. Flow awareness is centered on creating a shared timeline of actions between humans and AI in software development. The core idea is to progressively transfer tasks from human to AI by understanding where AI can most effectively assist. This approach creates a continuous improvement loop for the models. For enterprises building or maintaining software, SWE-1 represents an important evolution in AI-assisted development. Rather than treating AI coding assistants as simply autocomplete tools, this approach promises to accelerate the entire development lifecycle. The potential impact extends beyond just writing code more quickly. The recognition that application development is more involved will help mature the vibe coding paradigm to be more applicable for stable enterprise software development. If and when OpenAI completes the acquisition of Windsurf, the new models could become even more important as they intersect with the larger model research and development resources that will become available.