As AI becomes more ingrained within the software development life cycle, tech leaders making hiring decisions are saying AI and machine learning are becoming non-negotiable skills. 71% of respondents to a new study from Infragistics say that they won’t hire developers without those skills.
The 2025 App Development Trends Report, conducted in partnership with Dynata, features insights from over 300 U.S. tech leaders surveyed between December 2024 and January 2025.
Thirty percent of respondents said that one of their top challenges this year is recruiting qualified developers. In addition to hiring for AI skills, 53% of leaders are also looking for cloud computing skills, 35% are looking for problem solving skills, and 35% are looking for developers who use secure coding practices.
“AI is rapidly transforming how businesses develop applications–from streamlining workflows to mitigating security risks—but the technology alone isn’t powerful without a skilled team behind it,” said Jason Beres, COO of Infragistics. “As companies look to expand the AI use within their business, hiring developers skilled in AI and machine learning, along with investing in upskilling, is critical to their ability to drive innovation and remain competitive.”
Other key challenges that tech leaders are dealing with are cybersecurity threats (45%), implementing AI (37%), and retaining qualified developers (35%).
The survey found that 87% of teams are currently using AI in their development process, and of the companies not using AI at the moment, 45% say they are likely to start within the next year.
The biggest use cases for AI in development are automating repetitive tasks (40%), creating layout and pages (34%), and detecting bugs. About a third of leaders believe AI is freeing up developers to spend time on more meaningful work.
The full survey can be found on Infragistics’ website here.
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