Indosat & GoTo launch Sahabat-AI for Bahasa Indonesia

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and GoTo have announced the development of Sahabat-AI, an open-source Large Language Model (LLM) ecosystem specifically designed for Bahasa Indonesia and its local languages.

The partnership marks a significant initiative aimed at advancing Indonesia's digital sovereignty and preserving its linguistic heritage. The launch event, which took place in Jakarta, saw participation from key figures including the Minister of State Owned Enterprise, Erick Thohir, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison CEO Vikram Sinha, and GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo.

Sahabat-AI represents a collective effort to promote leadership in AI development on a national level. This project is part of the broader Golden Indonesia 2045 vision, which aims to strengthen national leadership in technology and infrastructure. The LLM ecosystem facilitates creating AI-based applications and services in Bahasa Indonesia and other local languages, filling a void left by global language models.

Vice President of Indonesia, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, spoke on the occasion, highlighting the importance of human resources in the nation's progress. "Indonesia, as a large nation with aspirations to achieve Golden Indonesia by 2045, possesses a crucial asset that must be managed very well—its human resources, which will reach the peak of a demographic bonus in the 2030s. The capability of superior human resources will be a key determinant of a nation's progress. Especially in this era of rapid technological disruption, one of which includes artificial intelligence (AI). The government remains committed to enhancing the readiness of human resources and creating an ecosystem that empowers the younger generation to innovate, modify, and develop technology, including AI-based advancements, across economic, social, cultural, and linguistic domains."

The initiative gathers support from various stakeholders, including Indonesia's leading universities such as the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Bandung Institute of Technology, and Bogor Institute of Agriculture, as well as notable media groups like Republika and Kompas Group. Supporters aim to optimise Sahabat-AI for local context and cultural relevance, leveraging NVIDIA AI's capabilities.

Sahabat-AI leverages NVIDIA AI technology, incorporating NVIDIA NeMo to enhance general language understanding. The project aims to address Indonesia's unique needs by combining international expertise with local innovation. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, in collaboration with NVIDIA, is supporting continuous development via the GPU Merdeka sovereign AI cloud service.

Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, commented, "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 empower every Indonesian to harness advanced technology's potential. This initiative is a crucial step towards democratizing AI as a tool for growth, innovation, and empowerment across our diverse society."

The project underlines the importance of access for various sectors, allowing interaction with AI in native languages, promoting digital literacy, and fostering growth. Patrick Walujo, CEO of GoTo, expressed his vision, "Our vision for Sahabat-AI is to put the power of AI into the hands of everyone in Indonesia. By operating in Bahasa Indonesia, Sahabat-AI addresses critical context and cultural reference gaps left by the global large language models. It will help our businesses to communicate in new ways with customers, it will help our government ministries develop tools to engage with citizens more comprehensively and it will drive meaningful change for millions of people across the country. However, the only way to realize this vision is with the support of others. This is why we are inviting stakeholders from all sectors to join the development of this important open-source LLM ecosystem as we aim to drive the country forward together."

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, remarked, "Sahabat-AI launches Indonesia's AI journey and showcases how LLMs can be tailored to serve unique linguistic and cultural needs. Indonesia's culture of 'gotong royong,' or mutual collaboration, demonstrates how industry, researchers and the public sector can come together to help every nation use AI to advance development."

As the country works towards its Golden Indonesia 2045 vision, initiatives like Sahabat-AI play a vital role in positioning Indonesia as a leader in AI innovation, underscoring its sovereign capabilities and potential influence in the global AI landscape.