Who is Amjad Masad? Founder of Replit

From his roots in Jordan to steering a $1.2 billion-valued platform, Masad’s journey is one of resilience, technical brilliance, and bold predictions about AI’s impact on coding. In this blog post, we’ll explore his background, career, Replit’s meteoric rise, and his views on the future of programming.

Early Life and Background

Amjad Masad’s story begins in Jordan, where he grew up in an environment that shaped him into what he describes as a “fighter”. This resilience likely fueled his entrepreneurial spirit, driving him to tackle challenges in the tech world. Beyond coding, Masad has eclectic interests, including philosophy of mind, artificial general intelligence (AGI), tradition, and paleoanthropology. He’s also a fan of powerlifting, grilling steaks, reading, and sci-fi classics like The Forbidden Planet, Brazil, and Colossus: The Forbin Project, as noted on his personal website.

His early exposure to technology came through cybersecurity work during college, setting the stage for a career that would blend technical expertise with a vision for accessibility in programming.

Education and Early Career

Masad pursued a degree in computer science at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Jordan, building a strong foundation in software engineering. This academic grounding was critical for his later roles, where he’d leave a mark on some of tech’s biggest names.

Before founding Replit, Masad’s career included stints at:

• Yahoo: A brief role that gave him early industry exposure.

• Facebook: As tech lead on the JavaScript infrastructure team, he contributed to open-source tools like the Babeljs compiler, Jest testing framework, and React Native packager, showcasing his ability to innovate at scale (personal website).

• Codecademy: As the #1 employee and founding engineer, Masad helped build the platform’s infrastructure, cementing its status as a leading online coding school (Clay.com profile).

These experiences honed his skills in product development and leadership, preparing him to launch his own venture.

Founding Replit and Its Growth

In April 2016, Masad co-founded Replit, a platform designed to make coding accessible, collaborative, and fun. As CEO—and briefly as Head of Engineering from December 2022 to April 2024—he’s driven Replit’s mission to “democratize programming” by enabling anyone to write and deploy code without complex setups (Clay.com profile).

Under his leadership, Replit has achieved remarkable milestones:

These figures reflect Replit’s success in serving both hobbyists and professionals, making it a go-to platform for coding education and rapid prototyping.

Recent Developments at Replit

Replit has evolved significantly in recent years, with Masad steering the company through strategic shifts:

• Headquarters Move: In April 2045, Replit relocated its headquarters from San Francisco to Foster City, California.

• Layoffs: In May 2024, the company reduced its workforce to about 65 employees, focusing on high-growth areas (Semafor article).

• Launch of “Agent”: In September 2025, Replit introduced “Agent,” a tool powered by Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet model, allowing users to build apps using natural language prompts. This model set a record on SWE-bench in October 2025, highlighting its advanced capabilities.

• AI Strategy Pivot: Replit abandoned plans for a proprietary AI model, opting to leverage Anthropic’s technology. While this raises questions about competitive differentiation, it aligns with Masad’s focus on rapid innovation (Semafor article).

These moves position Replit as a leader in AI-assisted coding, catering to a new wave of creators.

Masad’s Vision: AI and the Future of Coding

Masad’s views on AI’s role in coding have sparked both excitement and debate. He’s made bold claims about the future, reflecting his deep engagement with tech’s evolution:

• AI Over Coding Skills: Masad aligns with Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, who predicted that “all code will be AI-generated.” He argues that learning to code may soon be a “waste of time” as AI agents improve, urging people to focus on problem-solving, clear communication, and software basics.

• Amjad’s Law: He’s credited with “Amjad’s Law,” suggesting that the return on learning basic coding doubles every six months, amplifying one’s ability to use AI tools effectively.

• Focus on Non-Coders: Masad has shifted Replit’s focus, stating, “We don’t care about professional coders anymore.” He aims to empower non-developers to build software using AI, democratizing creation.

• Natural Language Future: He envisions AI enabling a “return to natural language” for software development, moving away from traditional interfaces like “Windows and mice and desktops” to intuitive, prompt-based systems.

Masad’s views are grounded in trends like Google’s report that 25% of new code is AI-generated and Sam Altman’s claim that AI handles half of coding tasks in many firms. However, critics argue coding remains vital for understanding software and debugging AI outputs. A Uplevel study found AI hasn’t boosted developer productivity and may increase bugs, highlighting the debate’s complexity.

Competitive Landscape and What’s Next

Replit faces competition from platforms like Cognition’s Devin, an AI assistant for building websites and apps. Masad acknowledges AI’s rapid progress, admitting he didn’t expect tools like Agent to emerge so soon (Semafor article). Replit’s edge lies in its user-friendly platform, with plans to fine-tune larger models using proprietary data, though its reliance on Anthropic’s tech raises questions about long-term moats.

Looking ahead, Masad’s focus on non-coders and AI-driven development suggests Replit will continue to innovate, potentially redefining how software is created and who creates it.

Conclusion

Amjad Masad is more than a tech founder—he’s a visionary pushing the boundaries of what coding means in an AI-driven world. From his Jordanian roots to leading Replit to a $1.2 billion valuation, his journey reflects technical skill, resilience, and a knack for anticipating trends. With over 30 million users and innovations like Agent, Replit is reshaping software creation. Masad’s bold claim that coding may become obsolete sparks debate, but it underscores his mission to make technology accessible to all. As AI evolves, Masad and Replit will remain at the forefront, challenging us to rethink how we build the future.