Nvidia co-invests $200m in Indonesian AI center amid SEA push

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang / Photo Credit: Shutterstock

US chipmaker Nvidia is partnering Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison to open an AI center – whose construction is expected to start this year – in the city of Surakarta, Central Java. To that end, both companies are committing US$200 million to build the center’s infrastructure and develop the necessary human resources.

In January 2022, Nvidia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government. The chipmaker had pledged to train lecturers and over 20,000 university students in AI skills over a five-year period.

Nvidia has heightened its push in Southeast Asia as it achieved record revenues on the back of generative AI demand. Singapore telco Singtel recently partnered with Nvidia for a new data center brand, while the Singapore Institute of Technology also announced a new AI center in collaboration with the chipmaker.

It also reportedly aims to build a pilot manufacturing plant in Malaysia in collaboration with Kinsus Interconnect Technology, a Taiwanese supplier for Nvidia rival AMD.

After a visit to Vietnam last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also announced plans to expand its partnership with Vietnamese tech firms, among other initiatives.

Budi Arie Setiadi, Indonesia’s minister of communications and information, said in a statement that the quality human resources and 5G availability were what drew Nvidia and Indosat to Surakarta, whose current mayor is Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the incoming vice president and son of outgoing President Joko Widodo.

See Also: Can chiplets power China’s genAI ambition?