Cortical Labs went viral in 2022 for making a culture of human cells learn to play the computer game Pong. Four years later, the Melbourne-founded startup has announced what is claims is the world’s first biological data centre.
Founded by Hon Weng Chong in 2019, Cortical Labs is building computing facilities that run on human neurons instead of silicon chips, consuming a fraction of the energy of traditional GPU-based infrastructure.
The startup, which has raised USD12 million ($17.11 million) to date, with investors including Horizons Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Radar Ventures, 3C AGI, Sybil Lau, Tom Oxley, Gobi Ventures and the CIA’s In-Q-Tel, has launched proof of concept data centres in Melbourne and Singapore.
These biological data centres have their origins in the Pong demo; it was the catalyst for Cortical Labs to consider commercialising its technology. Following the demo the startup trained neurons to play Doom, a more complex game that’s widely used in technology circles for testing.