Singapore is building a “Biological Data Center” that places millions of living human brain cells inside a system designed to process information. The project brings biological neurons and conventional silicon hardware together in a prototype that its developers hope can open new paths for computing and research.

The collaboration involves the School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, known as NUS Medicine, data center developer DayOne, and Melbourne based startup Cortical Labs. Cortical Labs is one of the few companies developing commercial biological computers.

Its flagship product, CL1, combines conventional silicon chips with living biological neurons derived from stem cells. This biological component, sometimes described as “wetware,” allows neurons and silicon hardware to participate in processing data within the same system.

In August 2026, the NUS Life Sciences Institute received 20 CL1 units for what it called a “Biological Data Center.” Each unit contains hundreds of thousands of neurons derived from humans, creating a combined total of millions of brain cells operating in the laboratory.

The exact number of neurons inside each CL1 has been reported differently. Some outlets have placed the figure at 200,000, while others have reported 800,000 cells per unit.

“By growing living human neurons from stem cells and pairing them with rigorous engineering, we’re not only building a more efficient alternative to silicon; we’re creating a platform that can help us understand learning and adaptation at their biological source,” Professor Rickie Patani, director of the neurobiology programme at NUS Medicine, said in a statement.

“That dual promise is what makes this collaboration sustainable and scientifically generative. It gives us a real route to accelerate drug discovery and neurological disease research, turning laboratory insight into real-world impact far faster than we could before,” he added.

The neuron powered center is the first facility of its kind outside Australia. A facility in Melbourne houses 120 CL1 units, and each unit includes equipment designed by Cortical Labs to keep its neurons alive for as long as six months.

The technology remains at an early stage, but its central promise is efficiency. Biological systems could potentially process information using a fraction of the power needed by digital computers, although Cortical Labs has not provided figures showing exactly how its energy claims translate into measurable results.

NUS Medicine suggests the biological data center could supplement artificial intelligence when available data is sparse. Possible applications identified by the institution include drug discovery, robotics, cybersecurity, and fraud detection, but the current facility is essentially a prototype for investigating how the technology might be scaled.

Cortical Labs has already demonstrated earlier versions of its biological computing approach. In 2021, its scientists published a peer reviewed paper in the journal Neuron describing a computer system connected with 800,000 brain cells that could play the video game Pong.

The researchers proposed that cells derived from humans and mice learned through the “free energy principle.” Under that concept, a self organizing system such as a brain attempts to reduce surprise and unpredictability within its environment.

In Pong, missing the ball resets the game and sends the ball moving in a random direction, increasing unpredictability. Hitting it produces a more predictable direction, so the researchers suggested the cells became better at controlling the paddle because doing so reduced unpredictability in the feedback signals.

That explanation has not been proven, but Cortical Labs has continued developing the technology. Earlier this year, the company demonstrated an array of CL1 chips playing the classic first person shooter game DOOM.

The biological component did not render the graphics or operate the game logic. Those tasks remained with the silicon hardware, while Cortical Labs said the neurons processed inputs and issued commands to the player character.

Conventional computers using silicon chips remain far better at general computing tasks. Even so, the Cortical Labs team wrote in Science for a Better Tomorrow that biological brains offer unparalleled power and data efficiency, along with an ability to adapt rapidly in real time.

The work also points toward an ethical dilemma that may become more pressing if biological computing grows more sophisticated. Brain organoids are increasingly used in scientific research, prompting bioethicists to consider the theoretical possibility that sufficiently complex networks could experience pain, suffering, or consciousness.

No one would seriously claim that the neurons in Singapore’s prototype are sentient, and bioethicists overwhelmingly view such systems as far from that degree of sophistication. However, the source suggests that questions about consciousness may become harder to dismiss if biological data centers eventually scale up as advocates hope.