Pursuing US$243.5 Billion, Airlangga Seeks 15,000 Engineers in Indonesia
Jakarta — Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that artificial intelligence technology is projected to contribute US$15.7 trillion globally by 2030. For Indonesia specifically, generative AI technology has the potential to contribute US$243.5 billion (approximately Rp 4.110 trillion).
“Indonesia is an extremely large market for the future and the world is investing in Indonesia. We are witnessing a historic competition among global technology giants to secure a foothold in our market. NVIDIA has committed approximately US$100 billion for open artificial intelligence data centre chips and has shown keen interest in the ASEAN market, particularly Indonesia,” Hartarto said during his address at the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) 2026 event in Jakarta.
Hartarto added that this investment signals Indonesia’s potential as a market for the artificial intelligence sector. The development and utilisation of generative AI has the potential to create a market of US$243.5 billion from the national economy.
Interest in investment from major technology companies in Indonesia remains quite high, whether in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, or data centre sectors. Notably, technology company META is on track to spend approximately US$65 billion by the end of 2025 to expand its AI infrastructure. Additionally, Alibaba is investing US$53 billion over the next three years for the development of cloud and AI infrastructure.
Simultaneously, Hartarto noted that Indonesia has the opportunity to create 1.8 million new green jobs alongside the green economic transition agenda through 2030.
Nevertheless, Hartarto acknowledges that the number of engineers in Indonesia remains relatively limited. For this reason, the government continues to promote semiconductor development, including the recruitment of 15,000 engineers in the country.
“This figure also represents thousands of jobs that must be filled. Indonesia is becoming a major AI market. We must ensure that we are not merely consumers of advanced technology, but also creators with ownership of the manufacturing process. This is why Indonesia has taken strategic steps towards the semiconductor sector through Danantara,” he explained.
Furthermore, Hartarto continued, to strengthen the quality of engineers in Indonesia, cooperation with global engineering institutes and entrepreneurs is also required to achieve sustainable development objectives.
The plan to train 15,000 engineers is part of an agreement between Danantara and Arm Ltd, which was signed in the presence of President Prabowo in London last month.
According to Hartarto, Arm controls approximately 96% of chip technology for the global automotive sector and nearly 94% of chip designs for data centres and artificial intelligence. Through this cooperation, Indonesia aims to accelerate mastery of strategic technologies that have been the foundation of various modern digital innovations.