Kite was an AI-powered code completion tool that used machine learning to provide intelligent code suggestions, documentation lookups, and function signature assistance across multiple programming languages and editors, operating from 2014 to 2022. Founded by Adam Smith, Kite was one of the earliest companies to apply deep learning to code completion, predating GitHub Copilot and other modern AI coding assistants by years. At its peak, Kite had approximately 500,000 developers using its free tier, making it one of the most widely adopted AI coding tools of its era.
Kite was notable for its local-first approach to AI code completion, running models directly on developers' machines rather than relying on cloud APIs, which addressed privacy and latency concerns. The tool supported Python, JavaScript, Go, and other languages with features including multi-line completions, documentation popups, function signature help, and a Copilot-style inline code generation feature. Kite integrated with popular editors including VS Code, Atom, Sublime Text, PyCharm, and Vim, and developed a sophisticated Python type inference engine that was later open-sourced.
Kite shut down in November 2022, with founder Adam Smith citing two primary reasons: the technology was 10+ years too early to market, and the company could not convert its 500,000 free users into paying customers despite years of effort. Kite's business model struggled because developers expected code completion to be free or included with their IDE, and the AI models of the era were not yet capable enough to justify a standalone subscription. Upon shutdown, Kite open-sourced most of its codebase including its Python type inference engine, editor integrations, and GitHub crawler, leaving a legacy that influenced the next generation of AI coding tools.