Replit CEO Amjad Masad reaffirmed the company's commitment to remaining independent during a recent appearance at TechCrunch's StrictlyVC event in San Francisco. Speaking after a remarkable financial turnaround, Masad noted that Replit is on track for a billion-dollar annual run rate, a stark contrast to the $2.8 million in revenue the company generated in all of 2023. This growth comes amidst industry speculation that rival AI coding assistant Cursor might be acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion. While Masad acknowledged that Replit maintains relationships with potential acquirers as part of its fiduciary duty, he emphasized that the company is not currently for sale. He contrasted Replit's financial health with Cursor's reportedly negative 23% gross margins, arguing that Replit's diverse customer base and positive gross margins make independence a viable and preferred path. The discussion also covered Replit's fierce competition with Apple over App Store access. Masad stated that while losing the mobile app would not threaten the business, the company plans to take legal action against Apple for what he described as discriminatory and false blocking of updates. Apple has cited violations of its guidelines regarding code downloads to devices, but Masad refuted these claims, asserting they are factually incorrect. He expressed a desire to collaborate rather than litigate but criticized Apple for allegedly acting out of fear that Replit's app-building capabilities would compete with its own marketplace. Regarding its product strategy, Masad highlighted Replit's success with non-technical users and its full-stack approach. Unlike competitors that may generate code connected to external, public databases, Replit provides an end-to-end environment with built-in security, handling databases and deployments within isolated Google Cloud projects. This security focus has helped the company win enterprise deals against rivals, even when missing specific features. The company reports a net revenue retention rate of up to 300%, indicating that existing customers significantly expand their spending over time. Enterprises like Bain & Company have reportedly replaced legacy analytics tools with Replit, finding it difficult to replicate the platform's integrated security and ease of use in their own stacks. Masad also touched on the broader AI landscape, praising Anthropic for its agentic loops, Google's Flash models for price-performance, and noting the rapid rise of Chinese models like Kimi. On the topic of investment, while not ruling out equity stakes, Masad noted that Replit is more focused on enabling its user base to become successful founders. He cited examples of entrepreneurs who built profitable companies on Replit, including Magic School, which generated millions in its first year. With transaction volumes growing triple-digits, the platform is increasingly becoming a revenue source for its users, creating a new ecosystem of entrepreneurship driven by AI-assisted coding.