Typescript significantly predates ES6 and Webpack. Java developers have been drawn to Typescript for over 5 years now.

I know, but lately during frontend interviews I was surprised how many times I met with "I'm a developer I can do anything" type interviewers - some of them were dotnet, others were java devs and they preferred typescript, because 1. javascript is a terrible language 2. with typescript they feel right at home 3. they can use a "proper ide" (please, don't ask, I already had an argument and a rejection when I tried to ask about webstorm)