Yandex From Russia Plans Investment In Indonesia's AI Ecosystem

Alexander Popovskiy, head of Yandex's international search division. (photo: x @turkiyei ·)

JAKARTA Russian internet giant Yandex plans to invest in the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in Indonesia. This was conveyed by the Minister of Communication and Digital Indonesia, Meutya Hafid. In a meeting held on November 8 with Alexander Popovskiy, Yandex's head of international search division. Meutya Hafid said that Yandex is committed to expanding the search engine platform in Indonesia.

"We discussed with Yandex, which revealed their plans to invest in the Indonesian artificial intelligence ecosystem and expand their search platform," said Meutya Hafid in a statement released by the Ministry of Communication and Information last Friday. However, until now, further details regarding the amount of investment or type of collaboration that will be carried out have not been disclosed by both parties.

Yandex, often referred to as Russia's "Google", is one of Russia's leading technology companies and is known to have developed major language models and cutting-edge AI technology. However, the development of Yandex technology in Russia is hampered by restrictions imposed by Western countries on technology that could help Russia strengthen its military capabilities. Major global chip manufacturers have also stopped exports to Russia, adding to the challenges for Yandex in developing technological innovation in the country.

In Indonesia, AI is a sector that is increasingly attracting foreign investors, especially considering Indonesia's young population is very technology literate and enthusiastic about the development of new technology. Several major technology companies have shown interest in strengthening their presence in this country.

Nvidia, a global leader in AI chip technology, collaborated with Indonesian telecommunications company PT Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, to build an artificial intelligence center in Central Java with an investment value of 200 million dollars (Rp3.1 trillion). The project was announced in April by the previous communications minister. In addition, Microsoft also expressed its commitment to investing US$1.7 billion (Rp26.6 trillion) over the next four years to expand cloud and AI services in Indonesia, which includes data center development.

Indonesia has become an attraction for global technology companies because it is considered to have great potential to become a center for AI development in Southeast Asia. The Ministry of Communication and Digital also plans to continue to encourage partnerships with various technology companies, both local and international, to accelerate the development of digital technology in Indonesia and prepare local workers to deal with changes in the digital economy.

The steps taken by Yandex to invest in Indonesia are expected to accelerate digital transformation and provide benefits for the development of AI technology in the country.