YTL AI Labs is working to further the country’s sovereign AI ambitions. Recently, the YTL Power International Berhad subsidiary has partnered with NVIDIA to develop a new model using the latter’s Nemotron open models. Dubbed ILMU-Nemo-30B, it is the latest addition to the growing suite of AI models built by Malaysians.
ILMU-Nemo-30B is an agentic model that can handle complicated tasks that require deep understanding of local contexts. To achieve this, YTL AI Labs and NVIDIA research engineers collaboratively trained the model on local datasets hosted on the YTL AI Cloud.
The result is a model that shows a 23% improvement on the MalayMMLU benchmark. This is essentially a comprehensive test of multi-domain knowledge in Bahasa Malaysia. According to YTL AI Labs, this improvement demonstrates the model’s superior capabilities in dealing with complex queries and tasks relating to the Malaysian context, be it public services or enterprise solutions.
The company went on to note that ILMU-Nemo-30B complements the flagship multimodal ILMU model, which debuted last year. It serves to offer a wider range of tools for AI applications. Furthermore, it promises data residency and security as it is hosted on the YTL AI Cloud.
Speaking on the collaboration with NVIDIA, YTL Power managing director Datuk Seri Yeoh Seok Hong noted that the model proves how global strengths can be aligned with with national purpose, ensuring the country’s AI advancements are secure, inclusive, and rooted in Malaysian identity.
Meanwhile, YTL AI Labs CEO Foong Chee Mun stated that the company aims to provide developers and businesses with access to state-of-the-art agentic models suited for local needs. These tools allow for smarter, more effective, and culturally resonant solutions that can compete on a global stage.
The family of ILMU models is available through APIs. At the moment, organisations like Farben, J&C Pacific, and Swipey have integrated it into their applications. Meanwhile, the ILMUchat chatbot is available for download on Android and iOS. It should be noted that it is currently in public beta, though.
(Source: Bernama)
