Indonesian tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GoTo) and telecommunication company Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison have announced the latest advancement in Indonesia’s open-source large language model (LLM) ecosystem with the launch of Sahabat-AI’s 70-billion parameter model and multilingual chat service.

The duo said in a statement on Monday that building on the initial Sahabat-AI launch at Indosat’s Indonesia AI Day in November 2024, this development marks a pivotal step in reinforcing Indonesia’s digital sovereignty, aligned with Indonesian government commitments.

Now upgraded to 70 billion parameters, Sahabat-AI offers enhanced accuracy, enabling the launch of the new Sahabat-AI chat service, which is available on sahabat-ai.com or under “Popular Services” within the GoPay app’s home screen.

The new chat service is built with strong reasoning capabilities, enabling users to ask questions and receive insightful, natural-language responses.

It is one of the many use cases made possible by the more powerful model.

“With the launch of our 70 billion parameter model and the new chat service, Sahabat-AI takes a major leap forward in building a uniquely Indonesian AI ecosystem,” said Patrick Walujo, Chief Executive Officer of GoTo Group.

According to him, its multilingual capability, combined with enhanced accuracy, enables Sahabat-AI to better serve the diverse needs of people and businesses across the country.

He also said it reflects the firm’s commitment to digital sovereignty and supports President Prabowo’s vision for locally developed, locally hosted technology.

“By building this model in partnership with Indosat and a broad range of partners, we’ve created a platform that is smarter, faster, and more affordable,” he said.

He said the firm is also making the Sahabat-AI chat service available through the GoPay app, which is used by millions, ensuring people across the country can easily benefit from this uniquely Indonesian LLM.

“Sahabat-AI is already making a significant impact on customers across the GoTo ecosystem, lowering costs, improving service quality, and deepening engagement,

“More than a technological breakthrough, Sahabat-AI is a strategic advantage for us, and a powerful engine of growth for Indonesia’s digital economy,” he added.

Vikram Sinha, President Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, said through GPU Merdeka, the firm’s sovereign AI cloud, Indosat is laying the digital foundation to ensure that AI innovation is not only advanced but also nationally secured, culturally relevant, and equitably accessible.

“Sahabat-AI is more than a model — it’s a national asset powered by collaboration and built for all Indonesians,” he added.

It is noted that Indosat initiated the Sahabat-AI ecosystem as part of its larger purpose to empower Indonesia.

From deploying GPU Merdeka of Lintasarta – Indosat’s AI Factory – to enabling real-time multilingual services, Indosat provides the technical backbone that powers Sahabat-AI’s training, inference, and scalability.

This locally operated infrastructure ensures data residency, performance, and regulatory alignment — a critical enabler for public sector adoption and enterprise innovation.

The latest Sahabat-AI model can now operate across five local languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese and Bataknese in addition to a number of international languages.

The model is optimized to run on locally accessible infrastructure, enabling a broader range of users, from early-stage startups and university labs to large-scale public service institutions, to integrate AI into their workflows.

Its development is testament to the Indonesian spirit of gotong royong (mutual cooperation), bringing together research institutions, universities, media organizations, government agencies, and other partners in a national effort.

Collaborations are ongoing with leading universities, including the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Bandung Institute of Technology, IPB University, University of Udayana, and University of Sumatera Utara, as well as media groups such as Kompas Group, Republika, Tempo, and Hukumonline, to ensure that Sahabat-AI is optimized for local context and cultural relevance.

According to the statement, Sahabat-AI has been designed from the ground up to align with Indonesia’s digital sovereignty goals.

All data and GPU infrastructure used to serve the model are stored within Indonesian territory or on users’ own servers, ensuring compliance with national data regulations.

By localizing data storage and processing, Sahabat-AI also opens new opportunities for the Indonesian government and public sector to build secure, sovereign AI-powered services.

“By developing AI solutions that understand and cater to our unique yet diverse linguistic and cultural landscape, we are taking a significant step towards ensuring digital transformation benefits all Indonesians,” said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Chairman of the National Economic Council.


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