Amjad Masad on programming languages
From Fixate on Code Ep. 5 - Amjad Masad · · Fixate on Code
“I think the biggest one is concurrency. So call me the JavaScript was so I came from I came from PHP in school Java C++ and before that I did Visual Basic and all these are like blocking synchronous code so when I came to JavaScript from that it was a completely you know change of ways of doing things.”
On , Amjad Masad, CEO & Co-Founder at Replit, spoke about programming languages during Fixate on Code Ep. 5 - Amjad Masad on Fixate on Code.
About Amjad Masad
Amjad Masad, CEO and co-founder of Replit, has been active in public discussions about the company's trajectory and the broader impact of AI on software development. In recent appearances, Masad described Replit's evolution from a browser-based development environment to a platform that allows users to create and deploy software using natural language. He stated that the company's strategy has been to remove barriers to software creation, first by simplifying the development and deployment environments, and then by addressing the coding barrier itself with the release of the Replit Agent in September 2024. Masad said the company reorganized its teams to build interfaces for AI agents rather than humans, and that this product launch was an immediate hit. He also noted that Replit's revenue grew from $10 million to $100 million in nine months, and that the company is on track to reach $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026. Masad has also commented on industry trends and the nature of work in the AI era. He said he believes that coding models are approaching a plateau in capability, and that frontier AI tokens are becoming more expensive. He described engineers as "laggards" in adopting new workflows compared to non-technical users, and predicted that software engineers will become "shepherds" who oversee software created by others in an organization. Masad stated that he no longer codes himself, describing the experience as a "crisis" but emphasizing the importance of adaptability and discarding outdated skills. He also said that "lazy people are good automators" and that the role of humans is to identify cultural opportunities that AI cannot. Masad discussed Replit's security advantages over other "vibe coding" tools, citing its full-stack architecture and a decade of experience combating hackers. He also mentioned that he has invested personally in startups built on Replit, including Magic School, which he said reached $20 million in revenue in its first year.