Indonesia launches AI center with support from Cisco, Nvidia

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has established the AI Center of Excellence to enhance the country’s capabilities in AI.

The initiative is supported by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Cisco, and Nvidia, aiming to improve Indonesia’s digital infrastructure and workforce.

The center is based on six key pillars. These include a secure AI sandbox for practical applications, training programs to certify individuals in AI and data science, and an accelerator to support local startups.

It will also function as an enterprise hub for industry collaboration, develop national large language models, and guide ethical AI policies.

Indosat and Nvidia will spearhead efforts to create sovereign AI infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Cisco will offer secure systems to protect digital assets.

The center aims to train 1 million Indonesians in AI and related fields by 2027, partnering with Nvidia’s Deep Learning Institute and Cisco’s Networking Academy.

🔗 Source: Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Indonesia leads in AI adoption but trails in investment

The new AI Center of Excellence addresses a critical imbalance in Indonesia’s AI landscape: high adoption rates but relatively low investment.

Indonesia has the highest AI adoption rate in Southeast Asia at 24.6%, significantly outpacing Thailand (17.1%), Singapore (9.9%), and Malaysia (8.1%) according to industry surveys 1.

Despite this adoption advantage, Indonesia faces a stark investment gap, attracting only US$1.9 billion in AI venture capital compared to Singapore’s US$8.4 billion 2.

This investment disparity helps explain why Komdigi is prioritizing sovereign infrastructure and a national AI sandbox. Indonesia needs homegrown capabilities to match its adoption enthusiasm.

The initiative directly addresses this gap by leveraging global partnerships with NVIDIA and Cisco while building local capabilities, potentially creating a more balanced AI ecosystem that maintains Indonesia’s adoption leadership while improving its innovation capacity.