Days after his trip to the India and Japan for Nvidia’s AI Summit, Jensen Huang in his signature black leather jacket made his first visit to Indonesia. Greeted with enthusiasm akin to fandom, Huang's arrival marked a significant moment for Indonesia as he inaugurated the first Indonesia AI Day. This event underscored Indonesia's commitment to embracing artificial intelligence as a cornerstone of national development. As Huang aptly stated, "This era is key because it is fundamentally about their nation’s intelligence, and Indonesia decided to do something about it."

What went down

Indonesia’s AI Day, hosted by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison at The Tribrata Darmawangsa Convention Centre in Jakarta, attracted government officials, business leaders, academics, and entrepreneurs. In an opening discussion with Patrick Walujo, CEO of GoTo Group and Erick Thohir, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Huang said, “the production of intelligence is both an opportunity and an imperative for Indonesia” and emphasized the necessity for Indonesia to develop its own AI capabilities.

AI is seen as pivotal to achieving Indonesia's 2045 vision of becoming a developed nation, with leaders agreeing on its role in driving economic growth (8% annual GDP growth) and boosting labor productivity (3.5% annually) across key sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture. Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, also highlighted AI's role beyond productivity, urging companies to revisit their business strategies in light of AI's transformative potential. 

Among other discussions included Indonesia’s readiness as a country to embrace AI, and Jensen pointed out that the country’s access to affordable energy production, deep talent pool, vibrant startup ecosystem and population scale, puts the archipelago at an advantageous position.  

The launch of Sahabat AI, an open-source language model developed by GoTo and Indosat, was another significant highlight. This model, trained primarily in Bahasa Indonesia, democratizes AI access and showcases Indonesia's readiness to harness AI's benefits.  

As Jensen highlighted — “The launch of Sahabat AI has activated the entire country, with everyone now having access to the operating system of AI”. GoTo even demonstrated a cool demo of an upcoming voice assistant feature for both the ride-hailing and digital payments mobile application.  

Features like these which are powered by AI do not only make life easier for consumers but make technology more accessible to the wider population. Imagine every senior citizen can now easily book a ride to their family or get a live update on their financial resources. AI today is not only accessible but also serves as a powerful enabler, bridging technology gaps across Indonesia.

Where does Indonesia stand

Indonesia boasts one of Asia's fastest-growing digital economies, projected to expand fourfold to an estimated $300–$400 billion by 2030. The nation aims to surpass 90% internet penetration and cultivate a digital talent pool of 9 million within the same period. Reflecting this momentum, Indonesia's AI market is expected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2024 to over $8.5 billion by 2028, driven by opportunities in generative AI. By 2030, AI adoption could contribute to a GDP uplift exceeding 10%, highlighting its transformative potential.

However, to fully capitalize on AI, Indonesia must increase its IT spending, currently at 1.9% of GDP, significantly below the global benchmark of 4.5%. Indonesian companies will need to spend 8 – 10% of IT spending in AI and invest a total of $50 billion in AI in the next 7 years to capture the economic gain of AI, from its current $318 million or 1.1% of total IT spending, lower than the global average of 3.3%.

Foreign investment is also crucial, as neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Singapore attract more external investments from global technology players and hyperscalers at $21 bn and $15 bn respectively, almost 8 times more than Indonesia. This positions Indonesia as a rising hub for digital and AI growth, but the nation must accelerate its efforts to fully capitalize on this potential. Initiatives such as Indonesia AI Day, Sahabat AI, and the National AI Strategy play a vital role in driving progress and laying the foundation for sustained innovation.

What’s next

Indosat, in collaboration with Nvidia and other tech giants, aims to train 1 million digital talents by 2030, aligning with Vice President Gibran’s vision of making Indonesia an AI hub. 

According to the AI Preparedness Index 2024 by the IMF, Indonesia outperforms neighbouring peers like Malaysia and India across four key indicators: digital infrastructure, innovation and economic integration, human capital and labor market policies, and regulation and ethics.

Indonesia has also emerged as a regional trailblazer, becoming one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to earn the status of National Cloud Provider Partner through a partnership with NVIDIA, Indosat, and Lintasarta. Demonstrating its agility, Indonesia launched its high-performance sovereign AI cloud service, Merdeka Cloud, in just 73 days, already supporting organizations like Bank Jago. The platform is poised for rapid growth.

The country is further solidifying its position in AI by securing access to the latest NVIDIA Blackwell GB200 Tensor Core GPUs, set to leverage the 500 MW capacity of Lintasarta’s renewable-powered CGK4 AI data center park. These GPUs, delivered as a GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) offering, are expected to be available to local enterprises by the end of Q1 2025. Indosat CEO Vikram Sinha stated, “We will make AI affordable for every Indonesian,” unveiling GPU Merdeka Credits worth up to $2 million for students, research institutions, startups, and state-owned enterprises.

NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang captured the nation’s spirit of togetherness, cheering “Sahabat, Sahabat, Sahabat” — a tribute to Indonesia’s collaborative ethos and its potential to harness AI as a pathway to becoming a developed nation. If Jensen sees this bright future for Indonesia, it’s time for Indonesians to believe it too.

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