In a groundbreaking initiative that positions Indonesia at the vanguard of Southeast Asia’s artificial intelligence (AI) evolution, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GoTo Group) and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat) have officially launched an enhanced version of their open-source large language model (LLM), Sahabat-AI.
Originally unveiled in November 2024 during Indosat’s Indonesia AI Day, Sahabat-AI has swiftly transitioned from a burgeoning project to an essential pillar of Indonesia’s digital transformation. This latest enhancement not only broadens Sahabat-AI’s capabilities but also strengthens its role as a reflection of Indonesia’s identity, cultural diversity, and aspirations within the AI sphere.
The introduction of the new 70-billion parameter Sahabat-AI model is a remarkable leap from earlier versions, which were limited to 8 and 9 billion parameters and downloaded over 35,000 times from Hugging Face. This surge in interest highlights a growing hunger for locally-developed AI solutions, particularly those that are community-oriented. With its revamped architecture, the new chat service promises not only improved speed and accuracy but also a sharper intellect.
Equipped with robust reasoning skills, Sahabat-AI can now tackle complex user inquiries with natural, insightful responses in a variety of languages. This includes five of Indonesia’s major local tongues: Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese, alongside several international languages.
Bridging Language and Technology
The multilingual capabilities of Sahabat-AI highlight an important crossroads of technology and culture in Indonesia, a nation rich with over 700 local dialects spread across its 17,000 islands. By incorporating Bahasa Indonesia into its ecosystem, Sahabat-AI aims to foster digital inclusivity, cultural significance, and national technological autonomy. With around 35 million native speakers and over 150 million who use it as a second language, Bahasa Indonesia serves as a vital unifying medium in this diverse country.
This focus on Bahasa Indonesia helps dismantle linguistic barriers that previously excluded many from accessing AI-driven services, enabling a broad swath of the population to engage with advanced technology in their mother tongue.
All training, storage, and deployment occur within Indonesia, utilizing Indosat’s sovereign AI infrastructure, GPU Merdeka. This not only reinforces national compliance but ensures user data stays within the country’s borders.
The addition of Sundanese, spoken by approximately 39 million people, further enriches the cultural tapestry. By enabling Sahabat-AI to comprehend and reply in Sundanese, Indosat promotes regional equity and allows AI’s benefits to reach out into the heart of local communities. West Java, a densely populated economic hotspot, stands to gain tremendously as Sundanese speakers access AI tools in their native language, enhancing educational resources and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Empowering Culture and Community
Sahabat-AI provides a culturally attuned solution, especially for digitizing traditions and supporting tourism.
By incorporating Balinese, Sahabat-AI can facilitate the digitization of traditional rituals and the preservation of temple manuscripts, while also developing voice-to-text applications that support multiple speech levels: Bali Alus, Madya, and Kasar.
This technological leap is set to significantly boost cultural tourism by providing translations, guided tours, and interactive experiences for visitors embracing Balinese culture. As North Sumatra rises as a digital and ecotourism hub, particularly near Lake Toba, the inclusion of Bataknese ensures that local traditions and languages remain vibrant in the digital era. Sahabat-AI is poised to play a crucial role in digitizing traditional events and supplying real-time translation services to tourists, thereby enabling local communities to showcase their cultural heritage worldwide.
Within educational environments and community spaces, Sahabat-AI acts as a bridge between age-old teachings and modern technological access, ensuring that the Balinese language not only survives but thrives in contemporary settings. Who knew the path to preserving a language could be paved with AI?
Fortifying AI Infrastructure
The backbone of Sahabat-AI is Indosat’s GPU Merdeka, a sovereign AI cloud infrastructure that assures data residency, regulatory compliance, and real-time capabilities for training and inference, all while safeguarding data within Indonesia. This is a key element of digital sovereignty, which has been emphasized by both government figures and corporate leaders.
Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat, elaborated:
“Through GPU Merdeka, our sovereign AI cloud, we’re establishing the digital foundation that guarantees AI innovation is not only advanced but also nationally secured, culturally relevant, and equitably accessible. Sahabat-AI is more than just a model; it’s a national asset powered by collaboration and designed for all Indonesians.”
The local hosting and sovereign architecture of the model lay a robust groundwork for public sector integration. In an era when secure, domestically developed digital services are prioritized, Sahabat-AI sets a blueprint for AI-enabled governance, public health initiatives, language education, and localized content regulation.
From a business perspective, GoTo Group is integrating Sahabat-AI into the GoPay app—one of Indonesia’s most widely utilized digital platforms—demonstrating the practical utility of AI in everyday life. Whether enhancing customer service or improving financial literacy, the chatbot transforms into a daily digital ally.
Patrick Walujo, CEO of GoTo Group, reinforced this ambition. He remarked, “Its multilingual capability, paired with increased precision, allows Sahabat-AI to cater more effectively to the varied needs of individuals and businesses throughout Indonesia. It reflects our commitment to digital sovereignty and aligns with President Prabowo’s vision for technology that is both locally developed and hosted.”
He further noted, “By collaborating with Indosat and a wide array of partners, we’ve crafted a platform that is smarter, faster, and more affordable. We’re making the Sahabat-AI chat service available via the GoPay app, ensuring millions can reap the rewards of this uniquely Indonesian LLM. It’s already making a tangible difference across the GoTo ecosystem, reducing costs, enhancing service quality, and deepening engagement.”
Strengthening the National Agenda
National leaders are also voicing their support for Sahabat-AI as a vital element of Indonesia’s future. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Chairman of the National Economic Council, emphasized, “Data sovereignty isn’t merely a technical matter; it’s fundamental to our independence in this digital age. I commend GoTo and Indosat for spearheading the Sahabat-AI ecosystem and for fostering technological innovation rooted in our national identity. By crafting AI solutions that understands our uniquely diverse linguistic and cultural landscape, we are ensuring that digital transformation benefits all Indonesians.”
With a focus on local languages, sovereign infrastructure, and open collaboration, GoTo and Indosat are championing a national agenda for any nation eager to leverage AI without compromising its unique cultural essence.
