Human Brain Cell Computers to Power Energy Efficient Data Centers

Australian biotech startup Cortical Labs is gearing up to expand its “wetware” technology by creating the world’s first biological data centers in Melbourne and Singapore. After successfully developing the CL1,  the first biological computer deployable with code and composed of 200,000 living human neurons, the company aims to offer a groundbreaking alternative to traditional silicon-based processors.

In notable demonstrations, Cortical Labs showed that these lab-grown neurons can be trained to play video games. While a 2022 experiment demonstrated their ability to master Pong, a recent demonstration in February revealed they could navigate the much more intricate environments of Doom. Moving beyond gaming, the company is collaborating with DayOne Data Centers to equip facilities with racks of CL1 units.

The technology functions by transmitting electrical signals to neurons derived from human blood stem cells, with embedded chips recording neuronal responses as output. The key benefit of this approach is its exceptional energy efficiency. CEO Hon Weng Chong explained that each CL1 node uses less power than a handheld calculator, a tiny fraction of what a modern Nvidia GPU requires.

This biological computing approach could potentially lessen the environmental impact of traditional AI data centers, which are known for their substantial water and electricity consumption.

However, significant obstacles persist, particularly concerning the ability of biological computers to achieve the computational capabilities of advanced silicon chips, especially for complex, real-world AI applications.

The Melbourne facility will have 120 CL1 units, and the Singapore site is set to use up to 1,000. If these projects work well, Cortical Labs could show that the future of computing isn’t just about computer parts or programs, but also about the living cells found in the human brain.