Malt Reveals: AI Disrupts Skills of Tech Freelancers

Tech Trends According to Malt: AI in Full Expansion

The Malt platform recently published its report titled Tech Trends 2026, an in-depth analysis based on 2.5 million searches conducted by a community of 250,000 independent tech experts and 90,000 client companies. This report focuses on project descriptions, keyword searches, and freelance profiles, comparing data between 2024 and 2025. A major finding emerges: the initial enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed into concrete and operational adoption, evident in the skills declared by freelancers.

The Evolution of Skills: AI Surpasses JavaScript

In 2024, nearly 40% of new tech freelancers highlighted JavaScript when signing up on Malt. However, in 2025, this percentage dropped to less than 20%, while the proportion of new registrants declaring AI as a skill more than tripled. Artificial intelligence is now the 2nd most sought-after skill on the platform across all sectors. Notably, AI is mentioned as a mandatory skill in 22% of non-tech briefs.

Despite this shift, traditional programming languages are not disappearing. Python saw a 19% increase and TypeScript a 20% rise, supported by their compatibility with AI projects. Malt describes this change as a transition from a builder mindset to an orchestrator mindset, where value lies less in writing code and more in the ability to orchestrate intelligent systems.

AI Agents and Low-Code Redefining the Market

In 2024, companies primarily used RAG architectures to connect their data to language models. By 2025, they took a new step with the adoption of AI agents, systems capable of reasoning, using tools, and executing tasks autonomously. The demand for these agents increased 60-fold in one year. RAG continues to grow (+129%) and is integrated into most agent architectures as an essential component. The community of freelance AI Engineers has grown by 229% to meet these new demands.

Low-code automation is following a similar trajectory. Malt identifies AI and low-code skills as the two fastest-growing categories on the platform. n8n stands out particularly, recording a 14-fold increase in its projects on Malt in one year, reaching a volume comparable to that of Java. This trend, which began in 2025, is detailed in the 2026 study: 71% of n8n users are senior developers, who see it as a way to accelerate processes without the constraints of traditional frameworks.

Cloud and FinOps: Adapting to the Era of AI Workloads

Malt's report highlights that cloud architectures are reorganizing around AI workloads. The demand for generative AI in the cloud has increased by 96%, while projects specific to LLMs have risen by 154%. With GPU instances costing 10 to 20 times more than standard infrastructure, cost management becomes crucial: FinOps projects have surged by 72% on Malt, with the emergence of dedicated roles such as FinOps Architects and Lead FinOps.

Regarding sovereignty, the study reveals a gap between intentions and concrete projects: although the keyword has increased by 83% in briefs, only 1.7% of projects are actually multi-cloud. The demand for generative AI in the cloud has nearly doubled, and projects specific to LLM infrastructure have seen a notable increase. The RAG, now a standard architecture, requires new infrastructure demands, according to Malt.

Data Engineering: dbt and Kafka at the Forefront

Data platforms have become real-time operational infrastructures. Kafka is the most striking example: demand has increased by 328%, driven by the needs for ML pipelines in production and event processing. Demand is growing 21 times faster than the supply of specialized freelancers, which could lead to project delays in 2026.

dbt (data build tool) has quietly established itself as the reference tool for data transformation, present in 33% of warehouse projects (+42%). It has contributed to the emergence of a new discipline: Analytics Engineering, whose demand has grown by 103%. On the BI side, Power BI strengthens its dominance with 36.68% of the demand, while Tableau declines by 46%.

Cybersecurity Facing a Talent Shortage

More than half of the cybersecurity projects on Malt concern governance, regulation, and compliance (GRC). The demand for expertise in AI regulation has surged by 380%, driven by the gradual implementation of the AI Act. A typical GRC project now requires simultaneous expertise in GDPR, NIS 2, ISO 27001, and compliance with the AI Act, areas that were once distinct specialties. The demand for GRC is growing significantly faster than the supply of specialized freelancers.

Malt emphasizes that cybersecurity has become one of the most dynamic and strategic tech markets.