JetBrains: A Leader in Developer Tools and AI-Powered Software Development

Introduction to JetBrains and its Core Offerings

JetBrains, originally named IntelliJ Software, is a Czech private limited company established in Prague in February 2000 by three Russian software developers: Sergey Dmitriev, Valentin Kipyatkov, and Eugene Belyaev . Its inaugural product, IntelliJ Renamer, launched in 2001, focused on code refactoring for Java . The company's headquarters are now situated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with a global presence through offices in China, Europe, and the United States 1.

The foundational principle guiding JetBrains since its inception has been to enhance the enjoyment and productivity of professional software development for both individual developers and teams . This philosophy, often summarized as "from developers to developers," underscores a profound dedication to coding and a commitment to crafting intelligent, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing software tools 2. Key values include a developer-centric approach, prioritizing user satisfaction and product quality over aggressive marketing 3, fostering a culture of autonomy and trust 2, achieving bootstrapped growth without external capital , and championing transparency and community engagement, including extensive support for open-source initiatives .

JetBrains has evolved from a small startup to a global leader in developer tools, experiencing significant growth throughout its history. By 2024, the company reported 2,200 employees and served 11.4 million recurring active users 1. This growth accelerated significantly between 2010 and 2012 with the expansion of its product line beyond Java to specialized IDEs like WebStorm, PhpStorm, and PyCharm, and the introduction of the Kotlin programming language in 2012 . Financially, JetBrains achieved approximately $400 million in revenue in 2022, with a 5.6% growth in 2023 . The company is widely recognized for its robust reputation within the software development industry, with its tools utilized by millions globally, including over 90% of the top 100 largest businesses . It operates primarily on a software subscription model, notably offering a perpetual fallback license, and provides substantial support to educational institutions and the open-source community through millions of free licenses .

JetBrains' core offerings comprise a comprehensive suite of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), influential programming languages, team collaboration tools, and cutting-edge AI-powered solutions. These tools are designed to streamline the development process and maximize developer productivity .

Key Offerings Overview:

• Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): JetBrains is renowned for its family of IDEs, which serve as its primary product line.

  • IntelliJ IDEA: The flagship IDE for Java and JVM-based languages, it has evolved into a powerful multi-language environment available in both open-source Community and proprietary Ultimate editions .
  • Specialized IDEs: Building on the IntelliJ platform, JetBrains offers a wide array of IDEs tailored for specific languages and technologies, including PyCharm for Python, WebStorm for JavaScript, PhpStorm for PHP, CLion for C/C++, GoLand for Go, Rider for .NET, RubyMine for Ruby, and the newly introduced RustRover for Rust development .
  • Fleet: A next-generation, multi-purpose IDE focused on collaboration and remote workflows .
  • Other Tools: The portfolio also includes Android Studio (developed in collaboration with Google), DataGrip for database management, Aqua for test automation, and Writerside for technical writing 1.

• Programming Languages:

  • Kotlin: An open-source, statically typed programming language that runs on the JVM, JavaScript, and native platforms. It has gained widespread adoption and is now the preferred language for Android development .
  • JetBrains MPS: An open-source language workbench that facilitates the creation of domain-specific languages 1.

• Team Collaboration Tools: To support team productivity and project management, JetBrains provides:

  • TeamCity: A continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) server .
  • YouTrack: A flexible tool for bug tracking and project management .
  • Space: An all-in-one platform integrating Git hosting, code review, CI/CD, and team communication .

• AI-powered Tools and Innovations: JetBrains has strategically integrated artificial intelligence into its ecosystem to enhance developer productivity.

  • JetBrains AI Assistant: This AI-powered coding assistant is integrated across its IDEs, offering features such as context-aware code completion, code explanation, documentation generation, and bug fixing suggestions . It leverages models from OpenAI, Google, and JetBrains' proprietary solutions 1.
  • Mellum: An open-source large language model (LLM) with 4 billion parameters, specifically designed by JetBrains for coding-related tasks 1.
  • Junie by JetBrains: A smart coding agent that helps automate coding tasks, refine code, and manage context within projects .

JetBrains continues to adapt to new technological waves, such as data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, by developing cutting-edge tools and integrating advanced AI functionalities across its product portfolio . This commitment ensures its position as a forward-thinking provider in the evolving landscape of software development.

Main Developer-Tool Offerings

JetBrains has established itself as a leading provider of software development tools, building a comprehensive ecosystem designed to enhance developer productivity and streamline the coding process 4. The company's offerings span a wide array of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), programming languages, and collaboration tools, many of which are built upon the robust IntelliJ platform 5. These tools collectively cater to diverse programming needs, from specific language specialization to full-stack development and data science, constantly evolving to integrate modern technologies like artificial intelligence 4.

Flagship Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

JetBrains' core strength lies in its suite of specialized IDEs, each meticulously crafted to optimize development for particular languages and ecosystems. These tools provide intelligent coding assistance, robust debugging capabilities, and seamless integration with various development workflows.

IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA serves as the foundational and flagship IDE, primarily designed for professional development in Java and Kotlin, with a strong emphasis on maximizing developer productivity 5. It minimizes context switching by unifying coding, debugging, and testing within a single environment 6.

• Primary Functionalities: IntelliJ IDEA offers a rich set of features, including multi-platform support across Windows, macOS, and Linux, and a polyglot experience that natively supports JVM languages while extending to many others via plugins 5. Its intelligent coding assistance includes context-aware code completion (with AI-powered Full Line completion), comprehensive refactorings, static code analysis with quick fixes, and code generation . The IDE also provides an editor-centric user interface, efficient navigation tools like "Search Everywhere," and integrated developer tools such as a powerful debugger, profiler, terminal, and build tool integrations (Gradle, Maven, Bazel) . It features extensive version control system integration, including Git, Mercurial, and Perforce, alongside a robust Local History system 5.
• Unique Selling Propositions: The IDE's focus on productivity is paramount, automating routine tasks and offering intelligent assistance . It boasts a comprehensive feature set that often negates the need for external plugins found in other IDEs and is highly ergonomic and customizable . Notably, it integrates AI capabilities through the JetBrains AI Assistant and Junie, offering enhanced code completion, context management, and task automation .
• Target Programming Languages/Ecosystems: Primarily targets Java and Kotlin developers but supports a wide range of languages including Python, Ruby, PHP, SQL, Go, JavaScript, and TypeScript through its Ultimate edition and plugin ecosystem . It also provides dedicated assistance for frameworks like Spring and React .
• Addressing Developer Needs: It addresses the need for a unified, intelligent, and efficient development environment for professional developers, ensuring privacy and security while minimizing distractions and maximizing output .
• Evolution: Originating as a Java IDE, IntelliJ IDEA has continuously adapted, integrating early support for new Java versions (e.g., Java 25), build systems, and concurrency models, alongside an ever-growing AI integration 7.

PyCharm

PyCharm is JetBrains' dedicated IDE for professional Python development, designed to facilitate faster and smarter coding for both experienced developers and beginners 8.

• Primary Functionalities: It provides advanced Python code editing with context-aware completion, type hinting, quick documentation, and auto-imports 8. PyCharm includes robust AI integration via JetBrains AI Assistant and Junie for code planning, writing, refining, and testing 8. It offers productive database and SQL support, multi-language capabilities for full-stack web development (JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, SQL), a comprehensive Python profiler, and out-of-the-box support for popular testing frameworks 8. Its powerful refactoring and visual debugging tools streamline code maintenance and issue resolution 8.
• Unique Selling Propositions: Its highly optimized and focused environment for Python development, from scientific computing to web applications, is a key advantage 8. PyCharm provides an all-in-one solution for Python developers, integrating a wide array of tools within a clean, intuitive, and configurable UI 8. It also seamlessly integrates with Python's extensive ecosystem, supporting diverse use cases in AI, machine learning, and data science 9.
• Target Programming Languages/Ecosystems: Primarily Python, but also offers first-class support for web technologies like JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, and SQL 8. It supports frameworks such as Django, Flask, and Google App Engine .
• Addressing Developer Needs: PyCharm caters to Python developers working in data science, AI/machine learning, web development, and scripting, offering specialized tools to enhance productivity, code quality, and debugging efficiency .
• Evolution: PyCharm has evolved with Python's increasing prominence, particularly in AI, machine learning, and data science, ensuring continuous support for the latest Python features and integrating new AI development tools .

Other Notable Specialized IDEs and Tools

JetBrains' portfolio extends to many other specialized IDEs and essential developer tools, each designed to serve specific communities and use cases:

Programming Languages and Frameworks

Beyond its IDEs, JetBrains has made significant contributions to the programming language landscape:

• Kotlin: An open-source, statically typed programming language for JVM, JavaScript, and native code, developed by JetBrains. It has gained widespread adoption and is now the preferred language for Android development, known for its conciseness and safety .
• JetBrains MPS: An open-source language workbench that allows users to design and implement their own domain-specific languages (DSLs) 1.
• Ktor: A Kotlin-based framework designed for building "connected applications," such as web applications and APIs 1.

Team Collaboration Tools

JetBrains also provides essential tools for team collaboration and project management:

• TeamCity: A robust continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) server that automates build, test, and deployment processes, supporting various version control systems and build runners .
• YouTrack: A flexible project management and issue tracking tool that helps teams plan projects, track tasks, and manage workflows .
• Space: An all-in-one collaboration platform that integrates Git hosting, code reviews, CI/CD pipelines, package repositories, project management, and team communication, offering a unified environment for software development teams .

AI-Powered Development Tools

JetBrains has heavily invested in integrating artificial intelligence to further enhance developer productivity and coding assistance:

• JetBrains AI Assistant: This AI-powered coding assistant is integrated across JetBrains' IDEs, offering features such as code completion, explanation, documentation generation, and assistance with various languages. It leverages models from OpenAI, Google, and JetBrains' own proprietary models .
• Junie by JetBrains: A smart coding agent designed to automate coding tasks, assist in planning, writing, refining, and testing code, and provide intelligent refactoring tips, integrated directly into IDEs like PyCharm .
• Mellum: JetBrains has also released Mellum, a 4-billion-parameter open-source large language model specifically designed for coding-related tasks 1.

Overarching Advantages and Interconnectedness

The evolution and interconnectedness of JetBrains' tools are central to their value proposition. The IntelliJ platform serves as a common foundation, allowing for shared functionalities, consistent user experience, and easy integration of plugins across different IDEs . This ecosystem approach ensures several overarching advantages:

• Enhanced Software Quality: Tools provide real-time error detection, advanced code analysis, and robust refactoring capabilities, leading to more stable and higher-quality applications 6.
• Faster Time-to-Market: Integrated workflows reduce the need for developers to switch between disparate tools, thereby accelerating the development lifecycle 6.
• Optimized Productivity: By automating routine tasks, offering intelligent assistance, and providing comprehensive integration of essential tools, JetBrains' offerings significantly boost developer output .
• Effective Collaboration: Features like built-in version control integration, code review support, and collaborative coding (e.g., Code With Me) facilitate seamless teamwork, especially in distributed environments .
• AI-Driven Development: The strategic integration of AI, exemplified by the JetBrains AI Assistant and Junie, positions the company at the forefront of AI-powered development, offering advanced code completion, generation, and explanation features .

By providing a holistic and continuously evolving suite of interconnected tools, JetBrains addresses the diverse and dynamic needs of modern developers, contributing significantly to developer satisfaction and overall project success 4.

Dedicated AI Offerings and Features

JetBrains integrates advanced AI functionalities directly into its Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) to enhance developer productivity, streamline workflows, and improve the overall coding experience . The core philosophy is to empower developers rather than replace them, providing intelligent assistance that ranges from code completion to complex task automation 10. These AI features are powered by a combination of JetBrains' proprietary models, such as Mellum, optimized for code completion, and integrations with leading third-party Large Language Models (LLMs) like Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), and xAI's Grok family of LLMs . A key technological basis is the deeply context-aware JetBrains AI service, which leverages knowledge of the project's language, dependencies, and file structure to provide highly relevant and accurate suggestions 11. JetBrains emphasizes responsible AI use, ensuring transparency, protecting privacy, and giving users control over their data, with options for on-premises solutions and zero data retention policies .

Key AI-Powered Features and Their Impact

JetBrains' AI offerings are designed to integrate seamlessly into the developer's workflow, providing tangible benefits across various stages of software development.

1. AI Assistant (Central Hub)

The AI Assistant acts as a comprehensive coding companion, providing intelligent coding assistance directly within the IDE to make development faster, more productive, and enjoyable .

• Functionalities:
  • AI Chat with Agent Mode: Users can chat with supported LLMs, ask project-specific questions, and iterate on tasks 12. Agent mode, featuring "Junie" and Claude Agent, enables more complex activities such as implementing fixes, refactoring, generating tests, and planning code . The chat is context-aware, providing accurate answers based on the current project .
  • Context Management: Allows users to add files, folders, images, symbols, or commits to provide the AI Assistant with additional context for questions, or use @mentions to reference codebase components. Users can also exclude files using an .aiignore file .
  • Response Processing & Application: Users can review and apply suggested changes, modify files, insert code snippets, or run terminal commands directly from the AI Chat. A "Smart Apply" button helps insert generated code optimally .
  • Documentation-Based Answers: Provides instant answers about IDE features and settings with step-by-step guidance via the /docs command 13.
  • Web Search: The /web command allows searching the internet directly from the chat for technical documentation or troubleshooting 13.
  • External Data Sources: A beta feature allows connecting databases, file systems, or APIs via the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to make the AI more aware of the project 13.
• Impact: This feature deepens understanding, provides immediate solutions, and automates complex multi-step tasks, significantly reducing cognitive load for developers .

2. Advanced Code Generation

JetBrains' AI-powered code generation capabilities aim to accelerate coding by automating routine tasks, suggesting optimal code, and assisting with various coding needs 13.

• Functionalities:
  • Smart Code Completion: Autocompletes single lines and entire blocks of code, adhering to coding style and naming conventions . This is powered by Mellum, JetBrains' proprietary LLM optimized specifically for coding 13.
  • Next Edit Suggestions: Predicts subsequent edits, including additions, deletions, renames, and logic updates, to help quickly apply related changes throughout a file .
  • Code Generation from Natural Language: Generates functional code snippets from natural language requests directly within the editor or via an action 13.
  • Unit Test Creation: Automatically creates well-structured unit tests by leveraging code insights and documentation, ensuring comprehensive test coverage .
  • Cross-Language Development: Converts code into a different programming language with a single click 13.
• Impact: These features significantly boost individual coding throughput by handling boilerplate, providing accurate suggestions, and enabling faster prototyping and feature development .

3. Intelligent Analysis Features

Designed to improve code quality, maintainability, and developer understanding, these features provide automated analysis and suggestions .

• Functionalities:
  • Refactorings: Suggests refactorings for code, explains the rationale, and allows easy application of changes as a diff 11. This includes context-aware rename refactorings for consistency 13.
  • Inline Documentation Generation: Analyzes selected code and its context to provide rich, formatted documentation directly in the editor .
  • Commit Message Generation: Automatically summarizes code changes to generate concise commit messages, as well as titles and descriptions for pull/merge requests .
  • Merge VCS Conflicts: Assists with resolving Git conflicts by offering AI capabilities to speed up the process 13.
  • Explain Runtime Errors: Analyzes runtime errors and suggests fixes that can be inserted directly into files 13.
• Impact: This suite of features reduces manual effort in critical tasks, improves code quality and consistency, and speeds up the understanding and resolution of issues .

The following table summarizes JetBrains' key AI-powered features and their primary impact on the developer workflow:

Underlying AI Technologies and Integration

JetBrains' AI Assistant leverages a "JetBrains AI service" that transparently uses various LLMs to provide its advanced functionalities 11. Users have the flexibility to choose from cloud providers like Google Gemini, OpenAI, and Anthropic . Furthermore, the system supports custom local models provided by third parties, enabling offline work and enhanced security options . JetBrains' proprietary LLM, Mellum, is specifically designed and optimized for code completion, demonstrating the company's commitment to specialized AI solutions for coding . The entire system is built with privacy in mind, ensuring that customer code or data is not used for model training unless explicitly opted in for product improvement purposes .

These AI features are deeply integrated across JetBrains IDEs, including IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, PyCharm, Rider, and PhpStorm, as well as Android Studio and Visual Studio Code . This ubiquitous integration ensures that developers can leverage AI assistance regardless of their preferred development environment or programming language. Beyond core coding tools, JetBrains extends its AI capabilities to other areas, including:

• Pair Programming (Junie): An AI companion that aids in planning, writing, refining, and testing code, allowing developers to focus on creative problem-solving 10.
• Team Efficiency (YouTrack): AI-powered project management that identifies actions, creates tasks, and offers summaries and suggestions 10.
• Data Analytics (Datalore): Context-aware AI integrated into the collaborative data science platform 10.
• Building Agents in Kotlin (Koog): An open-source framework facilitating the creation of intelligent AI agents using Kotlin 10.
• Product Teams (Matter): An AI development companion for building functional prototypes without requiring coding expertise 10.
• Enterprise Solutions: Offering comprehensive control over budgets, security, and compliance for an organization's AI usage 10.

By embedding AI directly into developer tools and extending it across the development lifecycle, JetBrains aims to streamline the development process, reduce routine tasks, and ultimately increase coding joy, enabling developers to code smarter and ship faster .

Strategic Integration of AI within JetBrains' Ecosystem

Building upon its comprehensive suite of dedicated AI offerings and features, JetBrains is strategically embedding artificial intelligence across its entire product ecosystem to significantly enhance developer productivity and redefine the coding experience 14. The company's core philosophy centers on empowering developers through AI, ensuring that these advancements augment human capabilities rather than replace them. This strategy is underpinned by a strong commitment to transparency, user control, and data privacy, explicitly stating that user code and data are not utilized for training AI models; instead, proprietary models are trained on public, permissively licensed code to uphold intellectual property rights 10. JetBrains adopts a dual approach, both developing its own advanced AI models and integrating leading third-party solutions, providing users with unparalleled choice and flexibility 15.

This strategic integration extends beyond individual product roadmaps, permeating various JetBrains tools and platforms. The JetBrains AI Assistant, for instance, is deeply integrated into JetBrains IDEs and .NET/VS tools, providing context-aware, AI-driven functionalities such as multiline code completion, test generation, refactoring, error explanation, and documentation writing . Beyond the IDE, AI features enhance project management in YouTrack through AI-powered task identification, text-to-task conversion, summaries, and grammar checks 10. Similarly, Datalore, a collaborative data science platform, leverages context-aware AI to boost user productivity 10. For product teams, Matter serves as an AI development companion, facilitating the creation of functional prototypes directly within the codebase without traditional coding 10. Furthermore, AI Enterprise provides organizations with granular control over AI usage, budgets, security, compliance, and the selection of LLM providers 10.

JetBrains has also developed a suite of foundational AI components and frameworks to support its ecosystem:

Strategic partnerships are crucial to JetBrains' AI integration strategy, enabling the inclusion of cutting-edge AI capabilities within its ecosystem:

JetBrains envisions two primary evolutionary paths for AI in software development: an augmentation-centric future where AI enhances current practices, and an AGI-driven future where AI fundamentally reshapes development workflows 16. In the augmentation-centric scenario, AI support will expand to automate tasks like debugging and environment configuration, while AI agents evolve into team members handling routine tasks. IDEs will adapt to manage AI developers, and universal AI assistants will emerge across all development roles, potentially even becoming "tech leads" with comprehensive codebase understanding. The need for tools to track and verify AI-generated code will also grow, and AI will be integrated into programming education 16.

In the AGI-driven future, autonomous AI developers capable of writing, planning, and executing entire development workflows, potentially matching senior-level human developers, are anticipated. These AI developers may work collaboratively in teams within dedicated AI workspaces, necessitating AI-native tooling. A new research field, Human-AI eXperience (HAX), will focus on efficient human interaction with these advanced AI systems. AI-first code marketplaces, increased AI regulation, machine-optimized software, and AI's role in legacy code modernization are also part of this vision 16.

JetBrains Research actively supports scientific groups in both applied and theoretical tasks, evidenced by numerous publications and student projects 14. The company is intensely focused on researching more effective human-AI collaboration, studying trends in AI workspaces, tools for AI teams, and the design of next-generation IDEs to meet these evolving needs 16.

Despite facing challenges such as user discontent regarding recent pricing adjustments and credit limits for products like Junie, JetBrains maintains its stance as a "real business" that prioritizes sustainable growth over venture capital-driven strategies 15. While acknowledging the broader industry challenge of balancing product advancement with privacy expectations, JetBrains remains committed to its explicit policy of not using customer code for training its proprietary LLMs .

In summary, JetBrains' strategic integration of AI is comprehensive, developer-centric, and forward-looking. By combining proprietary AI development with strategic third-party partnerships, and through a deep understanding of both immediate and future implications of AI in software development, JetBrains aims to empower developers with intelligent tools that enhance productivity, ensure data privacy, and foster innovation across its entire ecosystem.