Replit's Growth and Future: Amjad Masad Discusses Independence, AI, and Legal Battles

Sun, 03 May 2026 08:08:00 +0200

Amjad Masad, the founder of Replit, has seen his company grow from a modest $2.8 million in revenue in 2024 to an annual run rate that could hit a billion dollars. In a recent interview at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event, Masad shared insights about Replit’s independence, its competitive edge over rivals like Cursor, and the company’s future trajectory. While Cursor is reportedly negotiating a $60 billion acquisition with SpaceX, Masad is committed to keeping Replit independent. Unlike Cursor, which is struggling with negative margins, Replit has managed to stay gross margin positive, thanks to its rational business model and focus on a wider audience of non-technical users. He also touched on the company’s high customer retention, which sometimes reaches 300%, and the ease with which non-technical users can create secure, scalable applications using Replit’s platform. Masad also expressed frustration with Apple, claiming the tech giant is blocking Replit’s updates on the App Store, espe