“If you have a vision and you want to do great things, you will be able to do great things,” Julien Batonnet, Director of AI and Technology at OrbitMI, emphasized in our conversation. His path to this role wasn’t linear–over more than fifteen years in tech, he has worked as a developer, a tech lead, a team lead, and an architect–but he carried the same curious, ambitious mindset throughout his work.
Batonnet has had a partner in crime throughout his career: Chief Product Officer Alexandre Lapointe. The two founded Océane Intelligence in early 2025 to make practical, affordable AI products to small and medium-sized companies. This project caught the eye of OrbitMI, who later acquired the company and brought both the developers into their AI and product initiatives.
Once inside the company, the pair split the strategic work that had defined Océane Intelligence: Lapointe took on product strategy as Chief Product Officer, while Batonnet became responsible for AI strategy.
“I’m quite proud of that story,” Batonnet says of the journey–building a company with Alexandre, developing their product, partnering with OrbitMI, and then stepping into the role of leading the company’s AI vision. Batonnet explained that there is some inertia for technology adoption in the maritime industry due to one critical factor: trust.
He explained that, unlike other industries where people might be reluctant to implement AI because it’s deemed unnecessary, the maritime industry is slower to adopt the technology due to a lack of trust. The challenge isn’t persuading the industry that AI is worth using; it’s earning trust in a technology that, at least as of now, is still built as a “black box”.
To resolve this issue, Batonnet highlights the importance of keeping human need at the forefront. “Who knows what will happen with AI in 5 years, but right now we know we need the people.” Rather than producing the best agent with the best code, it’s important to take a step back and be able to express what you need from the agent.
He asks for “farmers, not plowers”: people who adapt with the technology and stay aware of where it’s headed, rather than simply operating it without truly understanding it. “Either you adapt, or you fall behind,” he says. And to stay ahead, technology needs to be transparent, with step-by-step solutions to build trust and understanding.
“We should not, with this current version of the platform we’re building, take action on behalf of the user,” he says. “We should provide insights, recommendations, this kind of thing, so the user can take action first.” Even AI voice technology helps with this: they streamline the thinking process while still keeping it human.
When asked about the impact of his place in Montreal, he emphasizes the large pool of talent around AI technology. With that encouragement, his creative efforts have been successful and made him excited for what’s ahead.
“AI is here for real and here to stay,” he ended on. Although he isn’t an uncritical believer in the technology, he insists on having an open mind about what AI can do and building the trust needed to feel comfortable. In his eyes, the best way to work is to continuously challenge himself to push the capabilities of what he–and the technology–are capable of. With that mindset, he sees a bright future for OrbitMI.
