JAKARTA: US tech giant Microsoft has announced a large investment in Indonesia, as the company’s chief executive officer visits Jakarta for talks with government officials.
Microsoft will “invest US$1.7bil over the next four years in new cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Indonesia, as well as AI skilling opportunities for 840,000 people, and support for the nation’s growing developer community”, the company announced in a press release.
Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said in a press conference on the same day that Microsoft’s investment was critical to Indonesia’s digital development. “This is a breath of fresh air for everyone, as a country and as society, because Indonesia is being taken into account in the global digital ecosystem,” he remarked following his sit-down with Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella.
According to the plans, a research development centre is to be built either in Bali or in Indonesia’s new capital city currently under construction in Kalimantan, with the intention to develop AI skills in the country.
The minister noted AI technology would foster Indonesia’s economic development in various sectors, including farming and fisheries. “With AI, our human resources can be more productive,” he asserted.
According to Microsoft, Indonesia currently leads South-East Asia in the projected contribution of AI to national gross domestic product by 2030, with higher economic output expected to be driven by the integration and application of AI technology across the country.
However, for this to happen, important challenges need to be overcome, with 48% of respondents to a survey conducted in Indonesia by management consulting firm Kearney in 2020 identifying the digital proficiency gap as an issue, while the lack of internal data governance (40%) and a lack of visibility of business outcomes (12%) were also seen as problems.
Earlier on Tuesday, Nadella hailed his company as a leader in AI infrastructure. “Our mission ultimately is to empower every person and every organisation in Indonesia to take advantage of this next big AI wave,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
“I’m very pleased to announce that we at Microsoft are going to train 2.5 million people by 2025 across the Asean region. In fact, 840,000 right here in Indonesia alone,” he said, according to the AFP report.
The Microsoft chief called it the “single biggest investment value” in the 29-year history of its business in the country, Budi said. — The Jakarta Post/ANN