Indosat expects to more than triple its AI computing sales this year

The short version

• Indosat sold USD50 million of AI computing services in the first 9 months of 2026, up from USD28 million in all of 2025.
• It expects USD100 million by year end and has reportedly signed more than USD300 million in contracts for 2027.
• Investors are less sure: the shares dipped 6.7% after the results, as heavy spending raised questions about returns.

What Indosat reported

Indosat sells access to the computing power that companies use to build and run AI. It calls this business AI Cloud. It published its nine-month results on 28 October.

The overall business grew well. Revenue rose 11% to IDR45.8 trillion, and net profit rose 37.2% to IDR4.9 trillion. Indosat credits part of the growth to using AI to tailor offers to mobile customers.

AI computing is growing much faster, from a small base. Its USD50 million is about 2% of the company's revenue for the period, which TelecomTV puts at USD2.52 billion. Even so, TelecomTV notes that many telcos aren't yet able to report AI sales at all.

The target for the year is demanding. To reach USD100 million, Indosat must sell in the last 3 months what it sold in the first 9. The contracts reported for 2027 suggest demand exists, though the press release doesn't name its customers. It says only that global technology partners are among them.

What it is building around that number

Indosat wants to supply more of what an AI buyer needs, from the network to the software. Three pieces matter if you are buying:

• RAIA Grid is an 86,000-kilometer fiber network. It carries your data between your offices and the computers doing the AI work.
• Zankore is a venture building AI data centers, with a long-term ambition of 1 gigawatt of capacity. TelecomTV reports it recently secured USD3.1 billion in debt funding.
• Indosat Intelligence Suite, launched with a technology partner, lets a company reach AI models through one service. It also helps you control usage and cost.

All of this is expensive. TelecomTV reports capital spending of almost IDR29 trillion in 9 months, equal to 63.4% of revenue. About 36% of it went to AI computing. That helps explain why the shares fell despite the strong results.

What it means for your company

For a large Indonesian company, this is mainly a buying question. Many companies start with a global cloud provider when they need AI computing. A growing local supplier gives you another name on the list, and more bargaining power with the others.

A local supplier may also make some compliance conversations easier. That depends on where the data sits and who can reach it, so ask.

Indosat also shows one way to pay for AI. Its CEO describes the core telecom business as the foundation that funds the next wave of growth. Your board can ask the same question of your own plans: which profitable business pays for the AI bet, and for how long?

The investor reaction carries a warning too. Shareholders are asking whether the spending will pay back, even as AI sales climb. Expect your own board to ask the same thing.

What to do next

• If you rent AI computing, add a local supplier to your next comparison. Ask about the price per hour and the data center's location.
• Ask what hardware you would get and how easily you could switch suppliers later.
• Ask where your data will be stored and processed, and who can access it. Then have your legal team check the answer against your own obligations.
• If different teams are buying different AI tools, look at services that combine access and cost control. Compare several, including those from your existing cloud provider.
• Watch Indosat's full-year results. Reaching USD100 million would be a useful sign of how much AI demand exists in Indonesia.
• Before your next AI budget, write down which business funds it and what return you expect by when.