Cortical Labs Debuts World’s First Commercial Biological Computer

Australian startup Cortical Labs has made history with the launch of CL1, the world’s first commercially available biological computer, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. 

Breakthrough in Biocomputing

Scientists have successfully integrated human neurons, grown from stem cells, with silicon hardware, ushering in a new era of artificial intelligence known as Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI). Unlike conventional AI, SBI utilizes living cells to enable faster learning, greater adaptability, and significantly lower energy consumption. A 30-unit CL1 rack runs on just 850–1,000 watts, compared to the 1,300 megawatt-hours needed to train models like GPT-3.

This groundbreaking Australian innovation has ignited a global frenzy across media and social platforms, sparking both excitement and intense discussion. 

As production ramps up, SBI is poised to become widely accessible to researchers, paving the way for unprecedented advancements in computing and AI.

This innovation builds on Cortical Labs’ 2022 breakthrough, DishBrain—a network of 800,000 brain cells taught to play Pong—proving biological systems can be trained for goal-oriented tasks through stimuli and feedback.

“Today is the culmination of a vision that has powered Cortical Labs for almost six years," said Cortical founder and CEO Dr Hon Weng Chong. 

From Lab to Market: Democratizing Biological Computing

Six years of R&D culminated in CL1, designed to democratize access to biological computing. CEO Hon Weng Chong emphasizes the device’s role as a foundation for broader innovation, allowing researchers to bypass specialized infrastructure. 

“The real impact will come from those building on top of it,”

he states. The company plans to ship units by June 2025, alongside a Wetware-as-a-Service (WaaS) platform for remote experimentation. CL1’s neurons are cultivated on a silicon chip, enabling bidirectional electrical communication between organic and digital systems. This hybrid design not only sustains cells in a controlled environment but also opens doors for long-term studies, as highlighted by University of Barcelona’s Sandra Acosta, who praises its stability for electrophysiological research.

"We’ve enjoyed a series of critical breakthroughs in recent years, most notably our research in the journal Neuron, through which cultures were embedded in a simulated game-world, and were provided with electrophysiological stimulation and recording to mimic the arcade game Pong. However, our long-term mission has been to democratize this technology, making it accessible to researchers without specialized hardware and software. The CL1 is the realization of that mission."

A Revolutionary Leap—With Big Questions Ahead

The launch of CL1 ignites a seismic shift in the debate over synthetic sentience and ethical frontiers. Cortical Labs first explored these issues with DishBrain, but this time, the stakes reach an entirely new level.

Why? Because SBI is stepping out of the lab and into real-world applications. At MWC, Cortical Labs and its academic partners demonstrated CL1’s viability, highlighting its potential in robotics, medical diagnostics, and adaptive AI. The possibilities feel electrifying, yet they come with serious ethical considerations.

As the boundary between biology and technology dissolves, CL1 represents both an extraordinary breakthrough and a profound challenge. Balancing innovation with responsibility will define the future of biocomputing.

With WaaS (Wetware-as-a-Service) lowering barriers to access, momentum is accelerating. The critical question now shifts from what SBI can accomplish to how wisely—and ethically—it will be used.