In a partnership between public and private sectors, Indonesia's technology leaders have launched a sovereign AI initiative aimed at serving the nation's 277 million Indonesian speakers. The project, announced at Indonesia AI Day, brings together government officials, tech giants, and industry leaders under the traditional concept of "gotong royong" - community collaboration.
"Artificial intelligence will democratise technology. It is the great equaliser," said NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang at the launch event. "The technology is complicated but the benefit is not."
According to Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) President Director and CEO Vikram Sinha, as quoted in the NVIDIA blog: "Sahabat-AI is not just a technological achievement, it embodies Indonesia's vision for a future where digital sovereignty and inclusivity go hand in hand. By creating an AI model that speaks our language and reflects our culture, we're empowering every Indonesian to harness advanced technology's potential."
The project is powered by "GPU Merdeka by Lintasarta," an NVIDIA-accelerated sovereign AI cloud operating from a renewable energy-powered BDx Indonesia AI data centre. Built in less than three months, this infrastructure supports various sectors including energy, financial services, and healthcare.
Key partnerships include:
- Accenture: Developing industry-specific applications, particularly in financial services
- Tech Mahindra: Building Bahasa language LLMs and chatbot services for government initiatives
- Hippocratic AI: Creating healthcare digital agents using trillion-parameter models
- GoTo: Integrating Sahabat-AI with their AI voice assistant, Dira, for local services
The initiative represents a step toward Indonesia's digital independence, with plans to expand the AI factory's capabilities while maintaining commitment to sustainability and the nation's Golden Indonesia 2045 vision.