The coding platform Replit has achieved a new milestone in its funding journey amid the increasing popularity of AI-based software development. The company announced that it has raised a new round of funding in the form of a Series D round.
The latest round has valued the company at a whopping $9 billion and has raised $400 million. The funding round was led by a returning investor named Georgian Partners. The list also includes some of the biggest venture capital firms in the world.
The list includes G Squared, Prysm Capital, Coatue Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Accenture Ventures, Okta Ventures, and Databricks Ventures. The list is a clear indication that many people in the venture capital world believe in the potential that AI-based coding tools have to offer.
Replit Hits $3B Valuation, Shaq, Jared Leto, and the Rise of “Vibe Coding”
The founder and CEO of Replit, Amjad Masad, announced the latest funding round in a post on X (Twitter). The CEO also announced that the company has raised funding from a few well-known angel investors. The list includes a former NBA star named Shaquille O’Neal and actor and musician Jared Leto.
The fresh funds mean a big increase in the valuation of the company. Replit raised $250 million in September. The funds came at a $3 billion valuation. The company said it expected to make around $150 million in annual revenue.
However, the company has not released updated information since the announcement. The company said it hopes to make $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of the year. According to the company, the funds are a big increase. Replit allows users to write, run, and share code directly in the browser. However, the company said it focused on tools to allow users to make software using artificial intelligence.
This is a trend that many people are now calling “vibe coding,” where users use natural language to interact with artificial intelligence. This trend has helped the company reach a wider audience. The company said it used to be a platform only for professional developers. However, now the company said it is a platform for a broader audience.
This includes students, founders, creators, and those without formal programming knowledge.
Masad has spoken about this strategy in earlier interviews with TechCrunch. He explained that the company spent nearly a decade trying to find the right direction. For years, Replit competed in the crowded market for developer tools. Growth stayed steady but modest.
Replit’s Bold Bet on the Non-Coder
The company then made a bold choice. It shifted focus from expert programmers to beginners and non-technical users. The goal was simple: make software creation as easy as writing a message.
That move sparked debate inside the developer community. Some engineers worried that simpler tools would weaken coding skills. Others believed the approach would open programming to millions of new users.
The rise of generative AI helped prove the idea. Tools that turn text into working software have changed how people build products. Many startups now aim to reduce the barrier to entry for software creation.
Replit sits at the center of this shift. Its platform blends cloud development tools with AI agents that help users design apps, fix errors, and deploy projects.
Investors appear confident that this approach will keep gaining traction. The company’s latest funding round suggests strong belief in the idea that software creation will soon look very different from the past.
For Masad and his team, the moment reflects years of persistence. What now looks like rapid success grew from nearly a decade of experimentation, setbacks, and a risky pivot that reshaped the company’s future.
