Coinbase Builds AI Coding Platform Forge, Exploring a New "Multi-Agent Collaboration" Software Development Model

Odaily News: Crypto exchange Coinbase is exploring the next generation of software development models through its internal AI coding system, Forge. The platform has evolved from an early internal tool into an ecosystem encompassing multiple AI development capabilities, and has become a case study of enterprises adopting Agentic AI.

It is understood that Forge was previously known as Cloudbot, and its early version was even named Claudebot. Currently, Forge has become an important part of OpenSWE, an open-source AI coding framework. OpenSWE aims to provide infrastructure similar to an "AI software engineer," including agent orchestration, cloud sandboxes, tool invocation, Slack/Linear/GitHub integrations, sub-agents, and automated Pull Request creation capabilities.

One of Forge's most notable features is "Mux." The tool currently has around 600 internal users at Coinbase, allowing engineers to run multiple AI agents simultaneously, transforming traditional serial development processes into a parallel collaboration model. Additionally, Forge includes features such as Slack task routing and "bug-to-fix" automation flows, designed to reduce manual handling of repetitive development tasks.

Coinbase's engineering lead, Chintan Turakhia, previously conducted an internal experiment in which nearly a thousand engineers were asked to pause using traditional IDE tools for two weeks, in order to explore which tasks in the development workflow could be automated by AI-driven processes. As AI coding tool usage has increased, Coinbase's AI spending has declined, while Token usage continues to grow. He noted that by building proprietary AI development tools, the company provides employees with an alternative to third-party AI coding services such as those from Anthropic and OpenAI.

However, external independent feedback on Forge and Mux remains limited so far, with most public information coming from Coinbase management disclosures. The actual hands-on experience of rank-and-file engineers has not yet been fully shared publicly.

Industry observers believe that Coinbase's Forge represents a new direction for enterprise AI applications: companies are no longer just calling general-purpose large models, but are building AI agent systems centered around their own business processes to improve development efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance internal productivity. (Forbes)