GoTo hits first profit 💰, TikTok expands its reach 📱, AI powers Indonesia’s next wave 🤖

Dear subscriber,

Indonesia’s digital economy is entering a new era of maturity and innovation. Local champions like Blibli and GoTo are proving that profitability and sustainable growth are achievable, while FORE Coffee sustained steady growth and Bukalapak continued its path toward operational maturity in 9M 2024. The government and private sector work hand in hand to restore trust in the startup ecosystem through initiatives like ReSTART. Momentum is also building around digital transformation—from the upcoming launch of the Digital Rupiah to TikTok’s expanding influence and the global rise of AI leaders like Nvidia and OpenAI. As Indonesia strengthens its digital infrastructure and develops homegrown AI talent, the focus is shifting toward long-term resilience, transparency, and impact.

Best regards,
The DailySocial Team

Blibli’s Strong Q3 Momentum

PT Global Digital Niaga Tbk (Blibli) recorded a 32% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue in Q3 2025, reaching Rp 5.64 trillion, while the nine-month total grew 26% to Rp 15.24 trillion. This growth was largely driven by higher sales of smartphones and consumer electronics, two key segments of Indonesia’s e-commerce market. Blibli’s take rate rose from 6.7% to 8.4%, showing stronger profitability, while operating expenses as a share of total transactions dropped to 7.2%, reflecting better efficiency. The company also expanded its offline presence by adding 13 new electronics stores and enhancing its omnichannel loyalty integration. For Indonesia’s digital economy, Blibli’s progress demonstrates how homegrown e-commerce platforms can scale sustainably and move closer toward long-term profitability.

GoTo Reports First Pre-Tax Profit and 21% Revenue Growth

GoTo Group reported its first adjusted pre-tax profit of Rp 62 billion in Q3 2025, with net revenue rising 21% year-on-year to Rp 4.7 trillion. Total gross transaction value (GTV) surged 43% to Rp 102.8 trillion, while annual transacting users in Indonesia reached 61 million. The company also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to Rp 1.8–1.9 trillion, underscoring progress toward sustainable profitability. This milestone highlights the continued maturation of Indonesia’s leading tech ecosystem—not only in user scale but also in financial performance. For investors and the startup community, GoTo’s achievement strengthens confidence in Indonesia’s capacity to build profitable, scalable digital enterprises.

FORE Coffee (PT Fore Kopi Indonesia Tbk) – 9M 2025 Summary

During the nine-month period ending September 30, 2025, PT Fore Kopi Indonesia Tbk demonstrated stable operational growth supported by prudent financial management and store expansion. The company maintained healthy liquidity while fulfilling all loan covenants with Maybank Indonesia, including a musyarakah financing facility of up to Rp 30 billion for store development. Interest expenses totaled approximately Rp 1.6 billion, reflecting ongoing financing activities to support outlet expansion and operational efficiency. The company’s capital structure remains solid, with Fore Holdings Pte. Ltd. retaining a majority ownership of around 78.9%, underscoring investor confidence in Fore’s business model. Overall, Fore continues to strengthen its retail network and brand position in Indonesia’s competitive coffee market while maintaining sound financial discipline.

Bukalapak (PT Bukalapak.com Tbk) – 9M 2024 Summary

Based on Bukalapak’s Q3 2024 interim financial report, the company recorded a net loss of Rp 593.2 billion — a notable improvement from Rp 784.1 billion in the same period of 2023. Revenue grew modestly by 1.8% year-on-year, from Rp 3.34 trillion to Rp 3.40 trillion. Despite the slow topline growth, the sharp reduction in losses indicates that Bukalapak’s path to profitability is accelerating, supported by tighter cost control and higher financial income (up from Rp 569 billion to Rp 784 billion). These results suggest that Bukalapak’s focus on efficiency and asset optimization is delivering measurable progress, moving the company closer to breakeven and strengthening its operational resilience in Indonesia’s competitive e-commerce market.

ReSTART: Rebuilding Indonesia’s Digital Trust and Entrepreneurship

DailySocial, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) and Garuda Spark Innovation Hub, launched the ReSTART initiative on October 28, 2025, in Bandung as a movement to revive confidence and entrepreneurship in Indonesia’s digital ecosystem. The program aims to rebuild the industry around strong business fundamentals rather than valuation hype. The first event, themed “Building a Strong & Mature Startup Team,” gathered over 100 founders, investors, and ecosystem players, signaling a united effort to mature Indonesia’s startup landscape. Komdigi officials emphasized a shift in perspective—from chasing unicorn status to prioritizing social and economic impact.

Digital Rupiah: Indonesia’s Leap Toward a Sovereign Digital Currency

Bank Indonesia is preparing to issue the Digital SRBI, a digital version of its government-backed securities (Surat Berharga Negara) as part of its national digital finance strategy. This initiative positions the Digital Rupiah as an official stablecoin-like instrument, bridging traditional monetary systems with emerging blockchain-based ecosystems. For Indonesia, this represents a major step in safeguarding currency sovereignty while promoting financial inclusion in the digital era. The move could redefine how individuals, banks, and fintechs interact with money—ushering in a more efficient and transparent payment landscape nationwide.

TikTok Reaches 460 Million Users in Southeast Asia

TikTok has surpassed 460 million monthly active users across Southeast Asia, with more than 160 million coming from Indonesia alone. Once known purely as an entertainment app, TikTok has evolved into a powerhouse for advertising, e-commerce, and digital creativity—enabling small businesses and creators to reach audiences at unprecedented scale. Brands in Indonesia are increasingly leveraging TikTok’s algorithmic reach to drive cost-efficient marketing and viral engagement. As the country’s digital economy continues to expand, TikTok’s influence illustrates how social platforms are becoming engines of economic participation and cultural exchange.

Nvidia Crosses US $5 Trillion Market Cap: A Symbol of AI’s Global Dominance

Nvidia has become the world’s first company to exceed a US $5 trillion market capitalization, underscoring the global dominance of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure industries. The surge reflects massive demand for data centers and AI-driven computing systems. For Indonesia, Nvidia’s success highlights an emerging opportunity: companies across manufacturing, cloud services, and digital integration could benefit from participating in the global AI supply chain. This milestone also signals the accelerating pace of AI adoption, prompting local industries to invest in computing power and talent to stay competitive.

OpenAI Sets the Stage for a US $1 Trillion IPO

OpenAI is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to US $1 trillion—one of the largest in tech history. The move comes as generative AI transforms industries worldwide, from education and media to enterprise automation. OpenAI’s rise symbolizes the global shift toward AI-driven economies, and for Indonesia, it opens doors to collaboration, adoption, and innovation. As local startups integrate AI models into their services, this development could accelerate Indonesia’s broader digital transformation agenda.

Indonesia’s journey toward AI sovereignty begins with strengthening its digital backbone. According to Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison’s Empowering Indonesia Report (IOH, 2024), the country’s data centers account for less than 1% of global capacity, prompting an estimated USD 3.2 billion investment need by 2030. Operational capacity is projected to rise from 0.3 GW in 2024 to 1.1 GW by 2030, with 18% of the workload dedicated to AI. This growth illustrates Indonesia’s ambition to become self-sufficient in computing power and data management. For the local market, these investments signal a massive opportunity for cloud providers, infrastructure developers, and renewable-energy partnerships to support AI-ready data ecosystems.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison’s Empowering Indonesia Report

While infrastructure advances rapidly, Indonesia faces a critical talent challenge. Only 0.06% of Indonesia’s workforce currently works in AI-related roles—far behind China (0.26%), India (0.21%), and Singapore (0.12%). To bridge this gap, an investment of USD 968 million in AI talent development is projected through 2030, aiming to grow local AI professionals from 287,000 in 2024 to 383,000. Encouragingly, over 71% of new AI workers transition from unrelated fields, showing a strong reskilling culture. For Indonesia’s digital economy, this highlights the need to scale up education, industry training, and public-private collaboration to ensure that digital transformation is not just built, but powered by local expertise.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison’s Empowering Indonesia Report

Indonesia’s AI industry is entering an acceleration phase as multiple sectors—from manufacturing to finance, begin adopting AI for process automation, data analysis, and decision intelligence. The country has produced 757 Indonesian-language datasets on global AI platforms like Hugging Face, far exceeding Malaysia’s 340, signaling growing local research capacity. However, the proportion of AI publications indexed in Scopus remains behind China and India, showing room for deeper R&D collaboration. To sustain this momentum, Indonesia must pair innovation with strong AI governance, ensuring safety, ethics, and security are built into every solution. This balance of progress and regulation will define Indonesia’s credibility as a trustworthy AI leader in Southeast Asia.