Amjad Massad (@amasad) started Replit to make programming accessible to anyone, anywhere. What began as a tool for learning to code has grown into a platform pushing the limits of AI-assisted software creation and recently surpassed $100M in ARR. On The Breakdown with @t_blom and @dflieb, Amjad shares the journey from his early days in Jordan, working on open-source projects, to leading Replit through major pivots from "teach a billion people to code" to "let anyone build software." He discusses the evolving nature of programming, the future of work, and the next generation of human-computer collaboration. 00:38 - From YC to Replit: The Early Days 02:00 - A Billion Developers: Pre-LLM Vision 02:58 - Betting the Company on Agents 04:20 - AI Autonomy Jumps (Claude 3.x → 4.0) 05:22 - Computer Use: The Last Mile 06:40 - Sampling & Branching for Reliability 10:00 - Non-Engineers Shipping Software 12:10 - Security & Safe Components 17:40 - Where Replit Fits (Cursor ↔ No-Code) 18:50 - Ambient Building & Mobile Workflows 23:00 - AI in Meetings & Granola Maximalism 32:00 - Should Kids Still Learn to Code? 33:52 - DIY SaaS & The Vertical SaaS Crunch 34:46 - Final Advice for Founders
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom 9 Years → $10M ARR 9 Months → $100M+
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Cloud dev envs... essential for collab, yet Replit adds novice appeal plus AI.. Interesting combo...
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom It’s wild how AI tools are turning everyone into coders. Replit’s doing some seriously cool stuff to make that happen.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom I've been working with non-technical people using these platforms (PMs, marketers, VCs), and the limiting factor is still model capability. For starting, it is incredible, but as complexity grows a bit, the code becomes madness, and the model's ability falls off a cliff.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom I see @Replit expanding away from little apps to full stack industry applications. Their approach will change how software is done.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Everyone can build, no excuse.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Agreed, learn to build useful things!
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Teaching code → Building software. Mission evolution wins. 🚀
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Absolute legend! Long live the idea guys
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Wondering how this idea looked on day 1 and typical comment it recived from VCs?!
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom @yihlamur are you related to the founder of replit? Because I think you two are long lost brothers. Asking for a friend.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom needs to rebrand to no-code.ai. .
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Replit's pivot from education to AI-assisted development is fascinating. The most valuable insight was learning when to code vs when to let AI handle it.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom what's next? everyone building software with no code at all? then what do i do lol gotta stay ahead of the curve i guess.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom This YC episode is 🔥 We fed it into VidDigest — our AI app that turns long YouTube videos into quick, punchy summaries, key takeaways, and actionable insights from your favorite YouTuber or any channel you follow. How accurate is this breakdown? You tell us 👇 Link in Bio
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Hard to understand why you would build an AI Coding App that's only useful to only like 50m developers, why are Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code ignoring 95% of the population ?
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom As an engineering student , I can say it helped a lot 😄
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom His vision and execution have been incredible! Alteryx tried doing something in same veins but didn’t really take it to next level
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Code's new frontier: creativity unleashed. Brace for the software renaissance.
@ycombinator @amasad @t_blom Keep a *competent* human in the loop... theregister.com/2025/07/21/rep…