TL;DR
Replit founder Amjad Masad, who faced backlash in Silicon Valley after public statements about the Gaza war, has steered his company into the AI coding boom. Replit raised $250 million in a financing round that pegged its valuation at $3 billion as the firm builds AI tools to convert plain-English prompts into working apps.
What happened
Amjad Masad, a Palestinian-born entrepreneur who founded Replit, has kept a high public profile for both his politics and his product. After commenting on the 2023 Gaza war and criticizing Israeli actions, Masad said he experienced social and investor pushback in Silicon Valley, with some labeling him a “terrorist sympathizer.” Despite that backlash, Replit doubled down on AI: in 2024 the company combined its existing web-based coding environment with agent-driven models that turn English prompts into pre-coded applications. In September the startup raised $250 million from investors including Prysm, Andreessen Horowitz and Amex Ventures, valuing the company at $3 billion. Masad’s path to Replit included building an early browser-based coding tool in Jordan, work at Codecademy and Facebook, acceptance into Y Combinator in 2018, and a period when he paused the company in 2019 to care for his ill mother. Replit’s growth comes amid heavy investment in the AI coding sector and rising competition.
Why it matters
- Replit’s valuation underscores growing investor appetite for AI tools that automate software development.
- The company’s trajectory highlights how founder politics can influence relationships with investors and peers.
- A surge in funding to AI coding startups could reshape how software is produced and who can build apps.
- Replit’s success will test whether developer-focused AI products can sustain long-term enterprise value or remain tied to the broader AI boom.
Key facts
- Replit integrated its coding platform with AI agents in 2024 to translate plain-English prompts into working apps.
- In September, Replit raised $250 million at a $3 billion valuation from backers including Prysm, Andreessen Horowitz and Amex Ventures.
- PitchBook data cited in the piece puts U.S. investment into the AI coding sector at $4.7 billion in the past year.
- Competitors and comparable deals mentioned include Swedish startup Lovable, which raised $330 million, and Israeli company Base44, acquired by Wix for $80 million.
- Masad grew up in Amman, Jordan, earned a computer science degree from Princess Sumaya University for Technology in 2010, and created an early browser-based coding tool before founding Replit.
- He worked as a founding engineer at Codecademy and later as a software engineer at Facebook before formally launching Replit with his wife in 2016.
- Masad and Replit were accepted into Y Combinator in 2018 and later received investment from Andreessen Horowitz.
- Masad says he declined a $1 billion acquisition offer from GitHub, believing the company would grow much larger.
What to watch next
- Whether the broader AI boom sustains and how that affects Replit’s valuation and product investment.
- How Replit competes with other AI code-to-product firms and whether it can differentiate its models and developer experience.
- Whether Masad’s public political positions influence future fundraising, partnerships or customer relationships (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- AI coding agent: A software agent that uses artificial intelligence to generate, modify or assemble code from high-level instructions.
- Valuation: An estimate of a company's market value used in fundraising to determine ownership splits and investment size.
- Y Combinator: A startup accelerator that provides seed funding, mentorship and networking to early-stage companies.
- Large language model (LLM): A type of AI trained on vast text datasets that can generate human-like language and be adapted for tasks like coding.
- Venture funding: Capital provided by investors to startups with high growth potential, often in exchange for equity.
Reader FAQ
Who is Amjad Masad?
He is the founder of Replit, born in Amman, Jordan, with a background in creating browser-based coding tools and experience at Codecademy and Facebook.
What does Replit do?
Replit provides an online coding platform and has built AI agents aimed at turning plain-English prompts into functioning apps.
Why was Masad criticized in Silicon Valley?
After the October 7, 2023 attacks and the ensuing Gaza war, Masad publicly criticized Israel’s conduct; that led to social and investor backlash and accusations of being a “terrorist sympathizer.”
Is Masad a billionaire now?
Not confirmed in the source.
Source: Photo illustration by The Standard Business He was called a ‘terrorist sympathizer.’ Now his AI company is valued at $3B “I must apologize to — absolutely nobody”: Replit founder…
Sources
- He was called a 'terrorist sympathizer.' Now his AI company is valued at $3B
- California's billionaire tax, explained
- Economic Times 09-12-2025 | PDF
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