Indonesia’s AI Center of Excellence established with Indosat, Cisco and NVIDIA

The AI Center of Execellence, which is powered by NVIDIA technology, secured by Cisco infrastructure, and supported by Indosat, lays the foundation for sovereign innovation, inclusive talent development, and a future-ready AI ecosystem.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has anchored the establishment of Indonesia’s AI Center of Excellence (AICoE) in collaboration with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat or IOH), Cisco, and NVIDIA. The national initiatives aim to accelerate the country’s competitiveness in AI.

Nvidia’s cutting-edge technology will power the AICoE with Cisco providing security with its intelligent infrastructure. Telco giant Indosat will enable the partnership that represents a shared commitment to advancing AI sovereignty, building national capabilities, and enabling AI access for all Indonesians

Taking a deeper look at the Indonesia AICoE, it will be built on six institutional pillars to drive AI advancement. The pillars include a secure AI Sandbox for developing real-world applications to solve industry problems as well as trainings to certify tens of thousands of Indonesians in AI and data science.

The remaining pillars will focus on accelerators to support local AI startups, an enterprise hub for co-creating industry use cases, a platform to develop national large language models as well as a national think-tank to guide responsible, ethical AI policy rooted in local values.

According to Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, the collaboration proves that digital sovereignty can be built together.

“We want Indonesia to be more than just a technology market—we want it to be a home for innovation and the creation of AI technologies that are relevant to the nation’s needs,” said the minister.

Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison emphasized that the AICOE is not just about deploying technology—it is about making AI accessible.

“At Indosat, we believe AI must be a force for inclusion—not just in access, but in opportunity. With the support of global partners, we’re accelerating Indonesia’s path to economic growth by ensuring Indonesians are not just users of AI, but creators and innovators. This initiative will translate into a commitment to develop talent, build national capabilities, and shape a future where Indonesia leads in AI—not follows. It is reinforcing our larger purpose to empower Indonesia,” said Sinha.

For Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco, the AI era demands fundamental architectural shifts and a workforce with digital skills to thrive.

“Together with Indosat, NVIDIA, and KOMDIGI, Cisco will securely power the AI Centre of Excellence-enabling innovation, skills development, and accelerating Indonesia's economic growth. Cisco is proud to build on over 25 years of partnership with Indonesia's public and private sectors to help shape their digital future,” said Robbins.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecom at NVIDIA believes that democratizing AI is more important than ever.

“Through strategic collaborations, developer enablement and wireless infrastructure guidance, we’re helping Indonesia build a sustainable AI ecosystem that will help to create a blueprint for how nations can harness AI to uplift every citizen,” commented Vasistha.

Supercharging Indonesia’s AI ambitions

The Indonesia AI Center of Excellence will supercharge Indonesia’s AI ambitions through four strategic approaches. First is the focus on the sovereign infrastructure whereby Indosat and NVIDIA are leading the charge to expand Indonesia’s first sovereign AI infrastructure built for scale, performance, and national self-reliance.

This platform will deliver a world-class foundation for secure, high-performance AI workloads, uniquely designed to empower Indonesia’s digital ambitions and accelerate homegrown innovation. Indosat, through its AI Factory, Lintasarta will be the first in Southeast Asia to integrate the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72, designed to accelerate next-generation generative AI and high-performance computing (HPC).

The second is on having secure infrastructure whereby Cisco will deliver secure, intelligent infrastructure to protect Indonesia’s digital assets and intellectual property. With advanced security embedded in the network, Cisco will create a resilient foundation for the nation’s AI Center of Excellence.

Anchored by a Sovereign Security Operations Center (SOC) Cloud Platform, it is powered by Indonesia’s first use of Splunk and Cisco’s Managed Security Services Solutions. The SOC will combine AI-powered threat detection, localized data controls, and seamless integration with national infrastructure, empowering Indonesian organizations to secure their digital assets and ensure compliance.

Third is the focus on AI for all. As expected, the AICoE will look to provide hundreds of millions of Indonesians with access to AI by 2027 leveraging Indosat’s extensive mobile network infrastructure. This effort democratizes AI, breaks down geographical barriers, empowers developers across the archipelago, and ensures that all citizens benefit from AI.

Lastly, the focus will be on building talent and ecosystem development. The AICoE is committed to equipping 1 million Indonesians with digital skills in networking, security, and AI by 2027.

NVIDIA will provide research support through its AI Technology Center, start-up assistance through its Inception program, and training and certification via its Deep Learning Institute. Cisco will provide training through the Cisco Networking Academy, creating a future-ready workforce to power the digital economy as part of its commitment to equip 500,000 Indonesians by 2030.

This cross-sector initiative reflects a bold national step toward inclusive innovation, sovereign secure infrastructure, and global competitiveness. By anchoring public-private collaboration through Komdigi, Indonesia is setting the course to become a leader in the global AI landscape—powered by its people, protected by its sovereignty, and driven by purpose.