IOH CEO Vikram Sinha (far left) joins representatives from the new tech facility's partners for its official launch.
- Government-backed hub will research AI use cases
- The tech facility will also develop AI talent in country
- Researchers will be given access to advanced AI models
Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), Nvidia, the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) and the Indonesian government have officially opened the country’s first university-based AI technology centre in Yogyakarta.
Working with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi), IOH and its partners have launched the UGM Indosat NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) – what a mouthful!! – as part of Indonesia’s AI Center of Excellence initiative.
NVAITC, which is dedicated to advancing AI research, innovation, and digital talent development, will bring together government, global technology leaders, industry and academia to drive AI projects. It will use Nvidia’s full-stack AI platform and Indosat’s sovereign GPU-as-a-service platform to provide researchers at UGM with end-to-end AI capabilities, including enterprise-grade compute and pre-trained AI models, development frameworks, and industry collaboration.
IOH’s president and CEO Vikram Sinha, noted: “At Indosat, we believe no Indonesian should be left behind in the AI era. Through UGM Indosat NVAITC, we are bringing the best of global AI technologies and expertise to Indonesia, while expanding access for the ecosystem of researchers, students, startups, and innovators across the country.”
He continued: “By strengthening AI readiness and empowering Indonesian talent, we aim to support the government's vision for AI and help position Indonesia not only as a user of AI technologies, but as a nation that develops and contributes AI innovations to the world.”
Some initial projects include an AI-powered screening technology, eNose-TB (to support Indonesia’s fight against tuberculosis) and SmartAgri, which leverages AI and precision farming to improve productivity in tropical agriculture.
UGM Indosat NVAITC is part of a wider push in Indonesia to advance AI research and development in the country. The collaboration was first announced in July 2025 and the partners signed a letter of intent in early 2026. The centre was inaugurated on 13 August and the country’s Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, called it an “important milestone in realising” Indonesia’s vision to position itself at the forefront of AI adoption.
He added: “Through initiatives like this, we are laying the foundations of Indonesia's AI sovereignty and ensuring AI becomes a driver of economic growth, national competitiveness, and solutions to Indonesia's most pressing challenges."
Just last week, IOH announced a new AI infrastructure partnership with Nvidia and Nokia. The joint venture – called Zankore – will operate as a sort of neocloud platform on steroids, combining AI datacentre hardware and software with the orchestration of an AI grid architecture, and the appeal of local language models.
- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV
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