Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, NVIDIA, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs have launched the UGM Indosat NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC), Indonesia’s first university-based AI technology center.
In a statement on Thursday, Indosat said the center is part of the government’s Indonesia AI Center of Excellence initiative. It runs on NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform and on GPU Merdeka, Indosat’s sovereign GPU-as-a-service platform.
The collaboration began with governance planning in July 2025 and the signing of a letter of intent in early 2026, before the center’s inauguration in August 2026.
The center can provide UGM researchers and students access to accelerated computing, AI software, pre-trained models, development frameworks, technical mentorship and training, along with connections to an international network of expertise.
The center will initially focus on applied AI research in areas aligned with national priorities. Its first projects include eNose-TB, an AI screening technology intended to support Indonesia’s efforts against tuberculosis; SmartAgri, which applies multimodal AI, edge computing and precision-farming technologies to tropical agriculture; and Tech4Disaster, a geospatial AI platform for disaster prediction, preparedness and response.
Meutya Hafid, Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, said the initiative reflected a long-term effort to build Indonesia’s research, talent, and innovation capabilities. It can help Indonesia as a developer of AI rather than only a user.
Vikram Sinha, president director and chief executive of Indosat, said the center can bring global AI technology to Indonesia and widen access for researchers, students, startups and other innovators.
Marc Hamilton, NVIDIA’s vice-president of solutions architecture and engineering, said the company would equip Indonesian researchers with leading open models and expertise.