Cotlin Conference Keynote Summary

Introduction

• Speaker: Kier, CEO and Scotland Developer at JetBrains
• Focus: Evolution and impact of Cotlin

Early Development of Cotlin

• First Cotlin code written in 2015, pre-official release
• JetBrains' engineering-driven culture
• Cotlin promises: readability, flexibility, safety, Java interoperability
• Cotlin's growth: 1 out of 10 developers worldwide use it

Community and Contribution

• Cotlin thrives due to libraries built by the community
• Importance of feedback and spreading Cotlin globally

Cotlin in 2025

• AI and industry trends
• JetBrains' approach: meaningful AI integration

AI Initiatives at JetBrains

• Release of Juni, AI agent for industrial tasks
• Integration of AI into JetBrains tools (code completion, test generation)
• Partnerships with leading AI companies

Language Evolution

• Cotlin 2.2 release and features
• K2 compiler for faster compilation

New Language Features

• Named-based destructuring to prevent mistakes
• Rich errors for better error handling
• Must use return values feature
• Stable compiler API for plugins

Tools and Ecosystem

• Introduction of Amper, a new build tool for Cotlin
• Build tools API for easier integration with Cotlin

Cotlin Foundation

• New members: Block Inc and Matter
• Foundation grants for outstanding contributions

AI in Cotlin

• Cotlin SDKs for AI model integration
• Introduction of Koug, an agent framework in Cotlin
• Open sourcing Malum, a Cotlin-specific language model

Cotlin Multiplatform (KMP)

• Stable, mature technology
• New plug-in for IDE support
• Compose Multiplatform updates, including stability for iOS
• Hot reload feature for desktop JVM target

Web Platform Enhancements

• Improvements in CotlinJS and Compose for Web
• Beta release of Cotlin and Compose for Web

Server-Side Cotlin

• Spring support with Cotlin
• Strategic partnership with Spring
• Introduction of Cotlin Notebook

Ktor and Exposed

• Performance improvements in Ktor
• R2DBC support in Exposed

Cotlin Language Server

• Official support for VS Code
• Pre-alpha release for testing

Conclusion

• Growth and strength of Cotlin community
• Encouragement to participate in conference activities and networking
• Appreciation for community support and participation