Cortical Labs launches biological data centre in Melbourne

Cortical Labs has announced the launch of what it says is the world’s first bio data centre prototype in Melbourne. It is a next-generation computing facility designed to process information using ‘wetware’: living biological neurons grown from stem cells, rather than traditional silicon chips.

The launch comes as Australia moves to accelerate AI adoption and investment, with the federal government’s National AI Plan designed to ‘turbocharge’ growth rather than introducing heavy-handed regulation. Data centres could use 15% of grid power and 25% of Sydney’s water, highlighting the urgency of sustainable infrastructure pathways as AI workloads intensify.

A bio data centre is built around brain-like biological networks (organoids) that can learn and adapt in ways conventional computing struggles to replicate, while operating on a fraction of the energy required by digital systems. Unlike traditional data centres where a single GPU can draw up to 6000 W, each CL1 biological compute unit runs on just 30 W, dramatically reducing electricity demand and easing the cooling burden that drives high water use across the sector.

“AI capacity is accelerating faster than most people realise, and everyone is talking about chips, models and megawatts,” said Hon Weng Chong, MD, Founder & CEO, Cortical Labs. “But far fewer are talking about the environmental and resource hazards that sit underneath this growth: the power constraints, the water trade-offs, and the sustainability risk if we simply build more of the same. The bio data centre is our proof-of-concept that there’s another path. Computing that’s biologically inspired, dramatically more efficient, and designed for the world we’re actually living in.”

Over time, wetware computing could help accelerate drug discovery, support energy applications such as smarter grid forecasting and optimisation, and unlock new biomedical research tools for studying neurological disease and personalised therapies.

From neurons to space — data centres radically evolve

As constraints tighten on Earth-based power and cooling, the industry globally is exploring unconventional infrastructure, including space-based data centres that aim to leverage abundant solar energy and novel thermal conditions. Recent announcements around plans to send high-performance GPUs into orbit underline that ‘where compute lives’ is now part of the innovation conversation.

Cortical Labs takes a different approach. Rather than moving the same silicon compute to new locations, the company is developing a fundamentally new compute substrate. The Melbourne Bio Data Centre prototype will be used to validate performance, reliability and operational models for wetware-based computing, and to inform future collaborations with research institutions and industry partners.

Cortical Labs recently launched CL1, a code-deployable biological computer using programmable organic neural networks, born on a silicon chip and living inside a digital world. Over the coming months, Cortical Labs will run controlled proof-of-concept programs to benchmark wetware compute efficiency against conventional systems and explore pathways for scalable, safe operations and compliance frameworks. A priority will be to engage government, research and infrastructure stakeholders on responsible deployment and sustainability principles.

Image credit: iStock.com/BlackJack3D

Originally published here.