Replit CEO Amjad Masad: India Emerges as Second-Largest Market Amid AI-Driven Coding Revolution

The landscape of software development is undergoing seismic shifts as AI-powered tools redefine coding workflows, and few companies exemplify this transformation better than Replit. In a recent interview with Moneycontrol, CEO Amjad Masad disclosed that India has become Replit's second-largest market by active users, trailing only behind the United States. This milestone highlights how AI-assisted development environments are gaining rapid adoption in regions with burgeoning developer populations.

Masad attributes this growth to several factors: India's massive pool of software engineers, increased focus on technical education, and Replit's strategic localization efforts. A key enabler has been the integration of Bengaluru-based Razorpay's payment infrastructure, allowing Indian users to easily purchase Replit's premium offerings. "Payment integration was a significant barrier," Masad noted, acknowledging how Razorpay's technology solved friction points specific to the Indian market.

The timing coincides with AI fundamentally altering software creation. Replit's Ghostwriter AI assistant, which suggests code in real-time, has evolved from novelty to necessity for many developers. Masad sees this as part of a broader trend where AI is "democratizing" development: "Tools like ours allow developers to build applications faster while abstracting away infrastructure complexities." This positions Replit uniquely against traditional SaaS models by combining cloud-based development environments with collaborative AI features.

However, this rapid growth invites scrutiny. Some industry observers question whether AI-assisted coding tools might inadvertently lower code quality or create security vulnerabilities through over-reliance on automation. Others point to intensifying competition from GitHub Copilot, Amazon CodeWhisperer, and open-source alternatives that could fragment the market. There's also skepticism about monetization sustainability in price-sensitive markets like India, where developers often favor free tiers.

Infrastructure challenges persist too. While major Indian cities boast robust connectivity, developers in smaller towns sometimes struggle with bandwidth limitations that hamper cloud-based tools. Additionally, the educational sector's adoption—a key growth vector for Replit—faces bureaucratic hurdles in some regions.

Despite these counterpoints, Replit's traction in India signals a larger pattern: emerging markets are leapfrogging traditional development toolchains in favor of AI-native platforms. As Masad observed, the country's developer community isn't just consuming technology—it's actively shaping it. With Replit planning deeper investments in regional partnerships and Razorpay expanding its fintech ecosystem, this synergy between AI-powered tools and local market expertise may redefine how software gets built globally.

The implications extend beyond developer tools. As Masad discussed, AI's impact on SaaS could accelerate the unbundling of monolithic applications into specialized, composable services—a shift that favors platforms enabling rapid prototyping. If Replit sustains its growth trajectory in price-conscious yet tech-ambitious markets like India, it may validate a new template for global SaaS expansion: one where AI capabilities and localized payment ecosystems drive adoption faster than traditional enterprise sales cycles ever could.