Amjad Masad, founder and CEO of Replit, discusses the limitations of current software tools, the potential of generative AI, and the convergence between different software tools. They also explore making code-based creation more accessible, the shift in skills and opportunities, and engaging with Repplet through bounties and the 100 Days of Python program. They discuss the potential of programming on mobile devices and envision a future interface that blurs the boundaries between chats, docs, and code.

Amjad Masad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, discusses the transformative power of AI in coding and product development. He offers a live demo showcasing how Replit enables users of all ages to create applications easily. The conversation highlights AI's role in democratizing software creation and reshapes the responsibilities of tech roles. Amjad introduces the new Assistant tool, designed to streamline coding projects for non-technical users, and emphasizes the growing importance of adaptability and generative skills in the tech landscape.

A small minority – likely less than 1% – of the world can code. Yet also widely known that the skillset tends to yield outsized returns, with developers generating some of the highest paying salaries out there.But the field is quickly shifting, especially with the advent of wide-scale AI. In this podcast, we get to chat with Amjad Masad, founder of Replit, about these foundational shifts.We cover how Replit has integrated AI into its platform and the implications on both current and future developers. It’s easier than ever to learn to code, but is it still worthwhile? Listen in to find out.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:04 - What is Replit?04:15 - Stories behind Replit11:10 - The software hero’s journey13:09 - Making coding fun15:58 - AI powering software19:37 - Training your own models22:36 - Building UX around AI24:16 - The developer landscape26:23 - The 1000x engineer30:40 - Should you still learn to code?34:41 - What does AI enable?40:54 - Developing on mobile43:24 - A software labor market45:53 - Differentiating a marketplace48:23 - Building new market dynamics50:45 - Looking aheadResources: Replit: https://replit.com/Replit Ghostwriter: https://replit.com/site/ghostwriterReplit Bounties: https://replit.com/bountiesFind Amjad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amasad Stay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Amjad Masad is the Founder and CEO @ Replit, whose mission is to bring the next billion software creators online. With Replit, Amjad has raised over $100M from the likes of Peter Thiel, a16z, Coatue and Addition, to name a few. Before founding Replit, Amjad was a tech lead on the JavaScript infrastructure team at Facebook. Before Facebook, Amjad was #1 employee at Codecademy. In Today's Episode with Amjad Masad We Discuss: 1.) From Troublemaker Child in Iran to Silicon Valley Founder: How did Amjad make his way into the world of tech and Silicon Valley having grown up as a misbehaving child in Iran? In what ways did Amjad show early signs of exceptionalism? Why does he always look for this in people he is hiring for Replit? What does Amjad know now that he wishes he had known when he started Replit? 2.) The Future: A New World with AI at the Centre: Why does Amjad believe we will see thousands of billionaires created from the innovation in AI? Why does Amjad believe AI will lead to 100 more Elon Musks? If Amjad were CEO of Facebook, what would he do? Why and how do they have to invest in AI? Will TikTok be banned in the US? How will this be resolved? Why does Amjad believe that 300 people control the future of AI? Is that not concerning? 3.) The Future of Society, Employment and Wages: Why does Amjad believe in 10 years, 1 engineer will be able to do what 100 do today? What will happen to the real wages of engineers? How does Amjad see the inclusion of universal basic income in the future? Is Amjad concerned about societal and civil unrest with wealth disparity widening further? 4.) Building the Replit Army: Why does Amjad believe that so many in tech have gotten too soft in the last few years? Why does Amjad release a "Why You Should Not Join Replit" page and share it with all candidates? How can a founder know if they have good company values or not? Why does Amjad feel we need a spiritual reform in company building? Why are startups and religion the same?

Episode 419: Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) talk about how Crumbl Cookie is making a billion a year in profit, will AI take over sports, looking at underutilized assets to create businesses and much more.Want to see more MFM? Subscribe to the MFM YouTube channel here.-----Links:* Flying Magazine* 1,000 True Fans* Parcast* Crumbl Cookies* Amjad Masad Twitter* Replit* Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.* Want more insights like MFM? Check out Shaan's newsletter.------Show Notes:(07:50) - What is a university?(09:05) - Craig Fuller & FlyingMag(24:20) - Finding the real metric that matters(30:40) - Parcast(34:10) - Crumbl Cookies(42:20) - Super Bowl and AI(54:55) - Underutilized Assets Businesses-----Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:• #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits• #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future• #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto* #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett• ​​​​#218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates• Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More• How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More

Amjad Masad, CEO, co-founder, and head engineer at Replit, discusses the potential of collaborative software development, improving AI infrastructure, the future of an agentic world, and the benefits of open-source software. They explore the impact of AI on code generation, the advantage of Replit, the future of AI, and building the future of AI with built-in currency.

Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, shares his inspiring journey from a student project to leading one of the most innovative companies in AI software development. He discusses the creation of Replit, the launch challenges he faced, and his pivotal moments working at Codecademy and Facebook. Amjad reveals how AI and coding agents are transforming software creation, democratizing access to coding skills, and fostering creativity in development. He also addresses the philosophy of techno-optimism and the current tech landscape under the Biden administration.

Replit founder Amjad Masad joins Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, and Antonio Garcia Martinez to talk about disenfranchised men, intellectual movements, problems with effective altruism and AI doomerism. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.(00:00) Episode preview(02:15) Replika caused Amjad to downgrade his view of humanity(03:15) Some men are down bad(05:15) Should we bring back monogamy?(08:15) If you’re not a top man, you’re screwed (phew)(13:00) Thought experiment(16:40) Antonio brings up Israel again (drink!)(18:15) “You don’t know what life is until you birth a child and bury a parent”(19:15) Unintended policy side effects(25:25) How to solve population crisis(27:45) WTF happened in 1971?(29:15) High and low time preference(35:15) Dating app preferences(39:00) Group narcissism(41:25) Groups that inbreed focus more on kinship(45:15) AI doomerism(50:45) from New Atheism to SJ to EA to AI Safety(01:00:15) Antonio calls out Eliezer Yudkowski(01:00:45) Criticizing Utilitarianism/Effective Altruism(01:10:15) Jesus vs Nietzsche(01:10:45) Bronze Age Pervert(01:13:15) Antonio recommends converting to Judaism(01:14:30) Why is EA so popular in Silicon Valley?(01:18:10) Why are EA just normie liberals(01:19:00) EA’s importance(01:24:15) The right way to think about alignment(01:27:15) Robert Conquest’s second law(01:30:15) Entryism(01:33:45) is right wing EA a thing?SPONSORS: Beehiiv | Shopify | NetSuite | SecureframeHead to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝 to https://Beehiiv.com and use code “MOZ” for 20% off your first three months-Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial periodShopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen-NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.-Secureframe (www.secureframe.com)Secureframe is the leading all-in-one platform for security and privacy compliance. Get SOC-2 audit ready in weeks, not months. I believe in Secureframe so much that I invested in it, and I recommend it to all my portfolio companies. Sign up for a free demo and mention MOMENT OF ZEN during your demo to get 20% off your first year.

Amjad Masad, a tech entrepreneur and AI expert, provides intriguing insights into the intersection of technology and politics. He discusses the complex implications of AI and its ethical concerns, particularly regarding societal fears and oppressive uses. The conversation dives into the evolving political landscape in Silicon Valley, noting a shift towards conservative viewpoints. Masad also critiques the influence of woke culture on innovation and emphasizes the importance of individual empowerment through technology and coding education.

Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, is a pioneer in making coding more accessible through AI. He discusses how AI agents can revolutionize app development, enabling anyone to build applications with ease. The conversation dives into the shift from no-code to code generation, highlighting real user experiences. Masad also examines the challenges of managing AI in projects and the evolving role of understanding coding fundamentals. With exciting success stories, he advocates for a future where AI enhances creativity and innovation in tech.