About
Julien Simon is an expert in Practical AI, currently serving as Chief Evangelist at Arcee AI. Named #1 AI Evangelist globally by AI Magazine in 2021, he champions cost-effective, privacy-first AI solutions through Small Language Models, challenging the industry trend toward expensive, large-scale alternatives.
With over 30 years of technology leadership—including executive roles at AWS, Hugging Face, Criteo, and other major companies—Julien has delivered 650+ speaking engagements across 90+ cities in 38 countries. His practical approach empowers enterprises to achieve superior AI outcomes while maintaining cost efficiency and operational simplicity.
At Arcee AI, Julien leads the charge in making AI accessible and practical for enterprises of all sizes, advocating for open-source tools and frameworks that enable organizations to develop, fine-tune, and deploy specialized models tailored to their specific needs.
Leading Voice in Practical AI
As a leading advocate for Practical AI, Julien Simon shapes industry conversations around cost-effective implementation and Small Language Models adoption. His influence extends far beyond traditional technical evangelism, with a proven track record of helping Fortune 500 companies implement AI solutions that deliver measurable business value.
🎯 Practical Over Perfect
Focus on AI solutions that deliver immediate business value rather than pursuing theoretical perfection. Real-world implementation beats academic optimization.
💡 Cost-Effective Innovation
Demonstrate that smaller, specialized models often outperform large models for specific use cases while requiring significantly fewer resources to deploy and maintain.
🔒 Privacy-First AI
Advocate for AI solutions that can be deployed on-premises or in private clouds, giving enterprises complete control over their data and AI processes.
📈 Scalable Implementation
Design AI strategies that scale with business needs, from proof-of-concept to enterprise-wide deployment, without requiring complete infrastructure overhauls.
Industry Recognition & Awards
- First Published Book on Amazon SageMaker (2019) - "Learn Amazon SageMaker" became the industry standard reference
- AI Magazine #1 AI Evangelist (2021) - Ranked as the leading AI evangelist alongside luminaries like Andrew Ng
- AWS Level 8 Promotion (2021) - Extremely rare achievement equivalent to Director level for individual contributors
- Arm Ambassador (2025) - Recognized for expertise in AI inference optimization on Arm platforms
Expertise & Leadership Impact
🧠 AI & Machine Learning Leadership
Leading global advocate for Small Language Models and practical AI deployment. Executive experience scaling AI/ML teams at AWS, Hugging Face, and multiple Fortune 500 companies.
☁️ Enterprise AI Strategy
Proven track record helping enterprises implement cost-effective AI solutions. Deep expertise in cloud-native AI deployment and enterprise architecture.
🎤 Global Thought Leadership
650+ speaking engagements worldwide, including major industry events, developer conferences, Fortune 500 companies, and prestigious institutions like UNESCO, World Bank, New York Federal Reserve, and sovereign funds. Regular media appearances and executive consulting.
🎓 Knowledge Authority
Published author, YouTube creator with 400k+ subscribers, and recognized industry expert. Committed to democratizing AI knowledge globally.
Contact
For consulting, speaking engagements, executive roles, advisory positions, or AI partnerships:
Email: julien@julien.org