Computers powered by human brain cells are officially entering the market.
Proponents of the technology say it’s key to achieving artificial super intelligence. In the future they envision, robots learn and adapt like humans while neuron-based simulations help eradicate diseases. They say biocomputers could cut the power needed to run advanced AI by orders of magnitude.
Skeptics note the technology is nascent and question its scalability. Others worry about the ethical implications as studies indicate that lab-grown brain orgainoids show signs of sentience.
Cortical Labs CL-1
Australian startup Cortical Labs just launched the world’s first commercially available biological computer powered by lab-grown human brain cells. Called The CL-1, the biocomputer integrates human neurons with silicon chips to create a so-called synthetic biological intelligence system. The startup says the CL-1 is suited for applications ranging from medical research to robotics.
Melbourne-based Cortical Labs first gained attention in 2022 after teaching approximately 800,000 human and mouse neurons on a chip to play the classic Atari game Pong. Research published in Cell claimed the neurons exhibited sentience in the simulated game environment.
The newly commercially available biocomputer, announced at Mobile World Congress 2025, builds on the breakthrough. Cortical says the way it leverages intrinsic learning capabilities of biological neurons is valuable for drug discovery and developing next-generation robotics. It contains hundreds of thousands of neurons, comparable in size to the brain of an ant or cockroach.
Human neurons grow across a silicon chip, enabling them to send and receive electrical impulses. The computer connects to Cortical Labs’s biological intelligence operating system. With the platform, users can deploy code through neurons to perform computing tasks. The startup says the neurons learn and adapt more efficiently than silicon-based processors.
The CL-1 is housed in a “body-in-a-box” system with internal life support mechanisms. The internal system includes pumps, gas systems, and temperature controls that keep the neurons alive. The neurons have a lifespan of up to six months before needing replacement.
According to Cortical Labs, the computer uses significantly less energy compared to conventional AI and computing models. The company says it has guardrails in place to address ethical concerns about sentience and consciousness.
The brain-powered computer is priced at $35K, with first shipments expected in June 2025. The company says pricing will decrease the more production is scaled.
The CL1 brain computer is also accessible via the cloud. The startup calls it wetware as a service.
Dr. Hon Weng Chong founded Cortical Labs in 2019. The doctor-turned-entrepreneur sought to develop proto-AGI devices.
“Pong was merely the start of a journey, a proof of concept that neurons outside of the body can still process information,” Chong said during XPANSE 2024. “We now potentially have a pathway to invalidate Moore’s paradox by combining the strengths of biological systems and silicon through hybridization.”
He said the computer is basically a reverse Neuralink: “One way we like to think about this is that, if Neuralink is to try to put a chip into a brain, why not go the other way and put the brain onto the chip?”
Cortical Labs secured $15 million in funding in 2023 to advance its biological intelligence technology. Prior to founding Cortical, Chong co-founded CliniCloud, a medical device startup backed by Tencent and Ping An Ventures.
A growing number of scientists around the world are exploring the use of lab-grown brain cells for advanced computing. They say biocomputers powered by human tissue could learn more efficiently, use less energy, and adapt better than traditional AI. Merging biological human intelligence with robotics and AI is potentially divisive.
A key drawback is the uncertainty of brain organoids developing consciousness over time. The likelihood of this occurring remains speculative, and today’s lab grown brain models are considered too simple to achieve any form of awareness.
China’s MetaBOC
In 2024, Chinese researchers introduced a new brain-on-a-chip technology called MetaBOC. The team from Tianjin University and Southern University of Science and Technology let Shanghai Eye in their lab to capture footage. The researchers believe this technology could combine human-like and machine intelligence. This would mean robots and other machines could think and learn more like humans.
They’ve used the hybrid system to autonomously control simple robots, performing tasks like obstacle avoidance, tracking, and grasping. This hybrid system enables the organoid to autonomously control robots, performing tasks like obstacle avoidance, tracking, and grasping.
FinalSpark
Swiss startup FinalSpark is offering biocomputers made from human brain cells, or organoids, for rent starting at $1,000 per month. The biocomputers are up to 100,000x more efficient than traditional silicon-based hardware and could accelerate AI development by mimicking human brain learning processes. Universities can rent access to four organoids, with some projects receiving free access. FinalSpark also offers dedicated organoids for industrial applications.
Brainoware
At Indiana University, researchers are growing tiny, three-dimensional brain models from human stem cells. They call the technology Brainoware. They’ve demonstrated voice recognition capabilities. The Brainoware system was trained with 240 audio clips of different speakers. The audio was converted into electrical signals and sent to the brain organoid chip.
After just two days of training the system accurately distinguished between eight speakers 78 percent of the time from just a vowel sound. The brain models connect to computers via tiny electrodes. They use a gentle method called low-intensity focused ultrasound to stimulate the brain models, helping them grow into complex networks of brain cells. By forming complex networks, the brain models might help robots learn and adapt better to new situations, like humans do.