Indonesia’s Indosat, GoTo Launch Local Language Model Sahabat- AI
Recently, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk, in partnership with Indonesia’s Telecom major Indosat, officially launched Sahabat-AI, a groundbreaking family of open-source LLMs tailored for Bahasa Indonesia and local languages. NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang joined Indonesia’s Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) director and CEO Vikram Sinha, GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo, and other leaders, launched Sahabat-AI in Jakarta. According to reports, Sahabat-AI is a collection of open-source Indonesian large language models (LLMs) that local industries, government agencies, universities, and research centres can use to create generative AI applications. “Artificial intelligence will democratise technology. It is the great equalizer,” said Huang. “The technology is complicated but the benefit is not.” The models, built with NVIDIA NeMo and NVIDIA NIM microservices, were launched at Indonesia AI Day, a conference focused on enabling AI sovereignty and driving AI-driven digital independence in the country. The collaboration is rooted in a comprehensive public-private partnership that embodies the Indonesian concept of “gotong royong,” signifying a spirit of mutual support and community cooperation. The project seeks to unite developers, language experts, and researchers to build AI solutions that serve every Indonesian. In fact, GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo shared a memorable moment from the launch when he asked NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang if the decision to develop an open-source LLM was “a bit crazy.” Huang’s positive response underscored the boldness and potential of the initiative. Patrick expressed gratitude to the GoTo team for their tireless efforts, highlighting the integration of Sahabat-AI into internal apps and its growing role in the company’s operations. The Sahabat-AI models are now available on Hugging Face, which invites researchers, developers, and organisations to explore them and contribute to their growth. “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,” Sinha said. “By creating an AI model that speaks our language and reflects our culture, we’re empowering every Indonesian to harness advanced technology’s potential. This initiative is a crucial step toward democratising AI as a tool for growth, innovation and empowerment across our diverse society.”
“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 ”
“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 ”
["Jensen Huang", "LLM", "NVIDIA"]
["Go", "Hugging Face", "artificial intelligence", "AI", "LLM", "Git", "Jensen Huang", "microservices", "ViT", "generative AI", "GAN", "NVIDIA", "R"]
["AI", "artificial intelligence", "generative AI", "Hugging Face", "microservices", "R", "Go", "Git", "GAN", "ViT"]
Shalini is a senior tech journalist, exploring the latest advancements in AI. When she's not reporting on the latest innovations, you can find her immersed in her next literary adventure.