GoTo and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison have launched a new version of the Sahabat-AI model, using 70 billion parameters.

This update includes a multilingual chat service accessible via sahabat-ai.com and the GoPay app.

The Sahabat-AI model supports five local languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese, in addition to several international languages.

It operates on locally available infrastructure to ensure data residency and comply with regulations.

The development of Sahabat-AI involved collaboration with the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, and media organizations such as Kompas and Tempo.

This partnership aims to enhance the AI system’s cultural relevance to local users.

🔗 Source: GoTo

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Indonesia’s race for digital sovereignty amid regional AI competition

Sahabat-AI represents a strategic implementation of Indonesia’s broader digital sovereignty vision, which President Joko Widodo previously emphasized as critical for global influence.

The initiative comes at a time when Southeast Asia faces increasing risks of “digital colonialism,” where data generated locally is controlled by foreign entities, prompting countries across the region to implement laws requiring local data storage 1.

Indonesia has been leading Southeast Asia in AI adoption since 2018 (with a 24.6% adoption rate), significantly outpacing regional neighbors 2.

This sovereign AI development isn’t occurring in isolation. Malaysia recently partnered with UAE’s Presight for AI infrastructure 3, and Vietnam and Thailand are pursuing similar sovereign AI initiatives. The entire region’s digital economy is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030 1.

Sahabat-AI’s multilingual capabilities reflect Indonesia’s unique diversity challenge, with the model supporting not only Bahasa Indonesia but also Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese. This addresses cultural representation concerns that often arise with Western-developed AI systems.

2️⃣ Economic transformation through locally-built AI infrastructure

The partnership between GoTo and Indosat fits into Indonesia’s broader AI economic strategy, with projections that AI will contribute $366 billion to Indonesia’s GDP by 2030 4.