JetBrains Launches Mellum: An ‘Open’ AI Model for Smarter Code Assistance

JetBrains, a global software company has introduced Mellum, its first AI model, designed to enhance code generation and developer productivity. It offers more flexibility to developers than many proprietary coding assistants.

Key features

• Mellum is designed for code completion, focusing on speed, accuracy, and efficiency.
• The model is multilingual and available for public use, including on Hugging Face.
• Mellum offers solid performance for its size, aiming to make AI coding tools more accessible.
• Mellum uses a LLaMA-style architecture and contains 4 billion parameters.
• This makes it efficient for both cloud-based and local deployment.
• The model is multilingual, allowing it to assist with code in several programming languages.
• The model is offering context-aware code completion, bug detection, refactoring suggestions, and documentation support.
• JetBrains describes Mellum as a “focal model,” meaning it is specialized for a single task—in this case, code completion—rather than trying to handle a wide range of functions like larger, general-purpose AI models.
• Mellum is now available in early access for JetBrains IDE users, with plans for enterprise support and on-premise deployment options. JetBrains also hinted at a roadmap including model fine-tuning, offline use, and broader language support.

Aiming for Transparency in AI Coding

JetBrains, known for its popular IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA and PyCharm, has released Mellum as an “open” AI model aimed at developers and teams seeking greater control, transparency, and performance in AI-powered coding.

While not fully open-source in the strictest sense, Mellum offers more visibility and flexibility than many proprietary coding assistants.

Positioned Against GitHub Copilot and Others

With the release of Mellum, JetBrains enters the competitive landscape currently dominated by tools like GitHub Copilot (powered by OpenAI), Amazon CodeWhisperer, and Tabnine.

However, JetBrains emphasizes Mellum’s tighter IDE integration and greater openness as key differentiators.

Conclusion

With Mellum, JetBrains is staking a serious claim in the AI coding space by combining practical IDE integration with an emphasis on openness and developer control.

As coding assistants become standard in software development, Mellum could become a preferred option for developers who value transparency and trust in their tools.