Human brain cells set to power two new data centers, thanks to 'body-in-the-box' CL1 — Cortical Labs targets the AI energy crisis with biological computer that reportedly uses less energy than a calculator

Cortical Labs, the Australian tech startup behind the CL1 biological computer, has just announced a new partnership to establish data centers using its experimental product, Bloomberg reports. The biotech company has partnered with data center company DayOne to establish the two data centers, powered by the ‘body-in-the-box’ CL1s, in Australia and Singapore.

This isn’t the first we’ve seen from Cortical Labs in the last twelve months. The company has already appeared on our radar with the CL1’s launch last March, with an update just a week ago that showcased its ability to play DOOM. Now, the Australian startup is looking at a more practical use for its product, thanks to these new data centers.

The CL1 units consist of a silicon chip with 200,000 lab-grown human neurons ‘grown’ on top, converted initially from human blood cells. Like the complex array of cells in the human brain, these neurons respond to electrical stimuli to and from the chip, forming networks like the neural arrays in our own brains. The system is shown to be able to learn and adapt, with the CL1 equipped with life-support features that keep the conditions suitable for the neurons to remain alive for up to six months.

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A facility in Melbourne, Australia, will consist of 120 CL1 units, but it expects its joint project in Singapore with DayOne to have as many as 1,000 units, although “in phases,” according to founder and CEO Hon Weng Chong. An initial 20 CL1 units will operate in an “initial validation phase” at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

From an industrial point of view, the CL1 could have potentially significant advantages over traditional computing, especially as companies search for ways to significantly increase capacity for AI without the huge increase in energy consumption. The neural approach used by the CL1 requires far less energy than a typical computer, according to Cortical Labs, requiring only a fraction of that used by conventional AI chips – less than a handheld calculator, even, according to Hon. These units are individually priced at around $35,000 each, based on Cortical Labs’ launch details.

Energy usage aside, Cortical Labs’s experiments with Doom, and Pong before it, have demonstrated the ability of the CL1’s neural networks to process data, learn from it, and adapt. This new collaboration with DayOne suggests work is ongoing to deploy the technology in a real-world environment that could serve as an alternative to power-hungry, water-demanding, and heat-generating AI data centers being built inside wind turbines and elsewhere.

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