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AI Agents Build C Compiler From Scratch
7 Feb
Summary
- Sixteen AI agents collaborated to build a C compiler autonomously.
- The compiler, written in Rust, supports multiple architectures.
- Significant limitations highlight current AI coding challenges.
Anthropic researchers have demonstrated a novel application of AI by tasking sixteen instances of Claude Opus 4.6 to build a C compiler from scratch with minimal supervision. Over two weeks, these AI agents, operating as autonomous teams, generated a 100,000-line Rust-based compiler. This compiler is capable of building a bootable Linux 6.9 kernel on x86, ARM, and RISC-V architectures, showcasing significant progress in AI-driven software development. The project incurred approximately $20,000 in API fees.
The resulting compiler supports major open-source projects and passed 99 percent of the GCC torture test suite, even compiling and running Doom. However, it has clear limitations, such as lacking a full 16-bit x86 backend and producing less efficient code than optimized GCC. Researchers noted that fixing bugs and adding features often broke existing functionality, indicating a practical ceiling for current autonomous agentic coding.
This endeavor highlights the human effort behind AI achievements. The AI model was trained on vast codebases, and significant engineering by researchers was required to manage agent interactions, optimize test outputs, and implement feedback systems. This work suggests potential for agentic software development tools, though concerns about deploying unverified AI-generated code remain.
