Indosat, GoTo launch Indonesia's 70b-parameter AI model in local languages

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and GoTo Group have launched a 70-billion parameter large language model (LLM) under the Sahabat-AI banner - now fully capable of conversing in five local Indonesian languages.

The model powers a new multilingual chatbot available via sahabat-ai.com and within the GoPay app, marking a leap not only in scale but also in everyday usability. Designed for national infrastructure and hosted on sovereign cloud GPU Merdeka, Sahabat-AI aims to put Indonesia in closer reach of its digital sovereignty goals.

“With the launch of our 70-billion parameter model and the new chat service, Sahabat-AI takes a major leap forward in building a uniquely Indonesian AI ecosystem. Its multilingual capability, combined with enhanced accuracy, enables Sahabat-AI to better serve the diverse needs of people and businesses across the country,” said Patrick Walujo (pictured, far right), CEO of GoTo Group, in a release.

Don't miss: VISION+, Indosat bet on content bundling to capture the streaming audience

Sahabat-AI builds upon the momentum of its initial launch last year. With capabilities now spanning Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese, the model speaks to the linguistic plurality of the archipelago. The new chat service can answer questions with clear, natural responses - thanks to the model’s stronger reasoning.

Built on GPU Merdeka, which was developed by Indosat’s Lintasarta, the model is trained and served entirely within Indonesia. The model’s chat service is a high-visibility use case - but not the only one. GoTo said Sahabat-AI has already helped cut costs and improve engagement across its ecosystem, from customer service to operations.

“Sahabat-AI is more than a model - it’s a national asset powered by collaboration and built for all Indonesians,” said Vikram Sinha (pictured, far left), president director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison.

Yet for observers, the model’s most meaningful feature lies in its educational and ecosystem impact. Through a structured internship program, university students have directly contributed to training and refining Sahabat-AI.

This hands-on participation speaks to a broader ambition: to grow Indonesia’s tech talent alongside its technical capabilities. Universities, media houses, and government agencies have joined the gotong royong (mutual cooperation) effort - ensuring the model reflects local nuance and national priorities.

One such student, Komang Ayu from the University of Udayana, noted: “This experience deepened my understanding of the end-to-end development of large language models. I learned how to collect and preprocess datasets, explored model architectures, and gained practical insights into how data is prepared and used to train AI models.”

The political support is equally explicit. “Data sovereignty isn’t just a technical matter, it’s a matter of national independence in the digital era,” said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, chairman of the National Economic Council. “I applaud GoTo and Indosat for pioneering the ecosystem of Sahabat-AI, and fostering technological innovation rooted in our national identity.”

Related articles:
Indosat's AI centre brings tech equity into focus in eastern Indonesia
GoTo builds on Google Maps partnership to drive efficiency and MSME growth
GoTo Group extends CEO Patrick Walujo's leadership until 2029