Indosat and GoTo Launch Sahabat-AI: Indonesia’s Multilingual Large Language Model
Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and GoTo Group have introduced Sahabat-AI, a 70-billion-parameter large language model (LLM) designed to support five Indonesian languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese. This development targets improved accessibility and integration of AI across Indonesia’s diverse linguistic landscape, benefiting startups, research institutions, and government bodies alike.
The Sahabat-AI model powers a new chat service available at sahabat-ai.com and through the GoPay app under “Popular Services.” This chat tool delivers natural language responses and reasoning, leveraging the extensive training embedded in the model, making AI-driven interaction more accessible to millions of users nationwide.
Building Indonesia’s Sovereign AI Infrastructure
Central to Sahabat-AI’s deployment is GPU Merdeka, a sovereign AI cloud operated locally to ensure data residency and compliance with Indonesian regulations. This infrastructure supports model training and deployment, enabling secure and culturally relevant AI solutions. It also encourages adoption of AI in public sector services and enterprise innovation.
Patrick Walujo, CEO of GoTo Group, emphasized the model’s multilingual capability and improved accuracy as key factors in serving Indonesia’s varied population. He highlighted the collaboration with Indosat and other partners as crucial to creating a platform that is smarter, faster, and cost-effective. Integrating Sahabat-AI into the widely used GoPay app further extends its reach.
Vikram Sinha, CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, described Sahabat-AI as a national asset supporting Indonesia’s digital sovereignty. He noted that the project aligns with efforts to secure AI innovation while maintaining cultural relevance and equitable access.
Collaborative Development and National Support
The project involves universities such as the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Bandung Institute of Technology, IPB University, University of Udayana, and University of Sumatera Utara. Media partners including Kompas Group, Republika, Tempo, and Hukumonline also contribute. This collaboration ensures the model is optimized for local cultural and contextual nuances.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Chairman of the National Economic Council, reinforced the importance of data sovereignty as a facet of national independence. He praised the initiative for developing AI solutions that reflect Indonesia’s unique linguistic and cultural diversity, supporting inclusive digital transformation.
Talent Development and Open Access
Sahabat-AI includes a structured internship program allowing university students to gain hands-on experience in AI model development. Interns work on data preparation, architectural design, and deployment, enhancing Indonesia’s AI talent pool. Komang Ayu, an intern from the University of Udayana, shared that the program deepened her practical knowledge of large language model development.
Earlier versions of Sahabat-AI have been downloaded over 35,000 times from Hugging Face, and the current model remains available for developers to experiment with and implement. All data and GPU resources are hosted locally or on users' own servers, ensuring compliance with Indonesian data protection laws and enabling secure AI applications in the public sector.
Technical Efficiency and Accessibility
The Sahabat-AI model is optimized to run efficiently on as few as two H100 GPUs, making it accessible to organizations and research groups with limited computing resources. This approach supports a wider adoption of AI technologies across Indonesia, from academic research to enterprise solutions.
For IT professionals and developers interested in advancing skills related to AI models like Sahabat-AI, exploring targeted training and certification can provide practical benefits. Resources such as Complete AI Training’s latest AI courses offer relevant learning paths for AI development, deployment, and operational management.
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