Matlab is (was?) the default tool for computational science, and Julia borrows lots from it. I'd say it's safe to put Julia in the same category with Matlab and Mathematica
But I can't imagine anyone would choose Matlab or Mathematica to build a backend...
>But I can't imagine anyone would choose Matlab or Mathematica to build a backend...
Julia is a clean, concise language that has so far mainly been focused on numerics. People are looking at using it in many other areas, for instance real-time robotic control: http://www.juliarobotics.org/
This means that at least some Julia folk are looking at ways of avoiding garbage collection during critical code sections...
Data center efficiency is a concern, and there is real interest in better languages for web applications. Rust and Swift both have projects exploring this area. Julia would fit well in that space, and in my opinion its syntax is much cleaner than either.