[Introduction: An epoch-making technological leap].
With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), a disruptive achievement that integrates life science and information technology has attracted widespread attention - the world's first biocomputer CL1 has been officially launched in 2025. Developed by Australian startup Cortical Labs, the system uses human neurons as the core computing unit and is open to the global research market with a starting price of $35,000. This is not only a technological leap in the field of biological computing, but also may rewrite the evolution path of AI, marking the beginning of the new intelligent paradigm of "human brain + machine".
Ⅰ Technical principle: The computational power of human neurons is "domesticated"
The core computing resources of CL1 are not traditional silicon-based chips, but 800,000 induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming neurons derived from human skin or blood samples. These neurons are cultured in vitro and placed on high-density electrode arrays equipped with specialized life support devices to maintain cell viability for up to 6 months. The system continuously provides nutrients, temperature control, waste removal, and fluid balance to neurons to ensure that they operate in a stable environment.
It works in a similar way to the human brain: neurons are constantly receiving input stimuli, emitting electrical signals, and making synaptic connections in interactions, enabling "spontaneous learning." This makes CL1 no longer rely on traditional preset logic, but has dynamic adaptability and brain-like computing characteristics. Compared to silicon-based chips, these biological systems exhibit the advantages of high parallelism, very low energy consumption, and plasticity.
According to IEEE Spectrum, a single CL1 can operate at only 850-1000 watts, which is far lower than the tens of thousands of watts required by traditional AI models in GPU data centers, and the energy consumption savings can reach 90%. This biocomputing device could be an attractive alternative for institutions that run long-cycle experiments but have limited budgets.
Pictured: From $35,000! CL1, the world's first biocomputer, is reshaping the future of AI
Ⅱ Operating system and programmability: BIOS connects the human-machine interface
In order to effectively control the interaction and learning process of neurons, Cortical Labs has developed a set of proprietary operating system bios (Biological Operating System). The system supports direct electrical stimulation of neuronal populations through software interfaces, signal conditioning and "neuroprogramming" development. Developers can not only train neurons for simple tasks, such as image recognition or motion control, but also build neural circuits through repeated stimulation and feedback mechanisms to simulate and learn complex behaviors.
This mechanism means that CL1 developers and users can directly participate in the programming process of biological computing resources, which is highly malleable and scalable, and provides an experimental platform for building brain-inspired AI systems.
Ⅲ Application prospects: from drug discovery to AI innovation
Biomedicine: Accelerating drug discovery and disease modeling
CL1 is positioned as a core platform technology for drug screening and neurological disease modeling. Currently, the system is showing promise in the study of diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Using cell lines from different donors, scientists can use CL1 to build personalized neural network models and observe their response to new drugs, thereby identifying drug candidate molecules at an earlier stage and avoiding the high risk of clinical failure.
With the average cost of a new drug costing $2.6 billion (data source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development), CL1 has the potential to reduce early testing time by several times and significantly improve R&D efficiency.
Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience: An Experimental Field for Building "Brain-like AI".
In terms of AI model training, CL1's biological neurons can form "memory traces" after receiving repetitive stimuli, and have brain-like reinforcement learning capabilities. The researchers found that even with simple feedback training, these neurons were able to gradually learn to recognize certain patterns, such as dynamic path recognition or specific image responses.
Different from traditional deep neural networks, CL1 does not rely on large-scale labeled data, and is more ecologically adaptable during training. This "live computing" approach is seen as a potential path to building a new generation of artificial general intelligence (AGI). In addition, CL1 also provides a quantifiable research model for exploring consciousness, synaptic plasticity, neurodegenerative mechanisms, etc., bridging the theoretical gap between neuroscience and AI.
Figure: Biocomputer CL1, fusing human neurons with a silicon-based chip
Ⅳ Market strategy: two-wheel drive of hardware sales + subscription services
Cortical Labs' first 115 CL1s will be delivered in the summer of 2025 at $35,000 each, but will be reduced to $20,000 per unit if a 30-server kit is purchased, encouraging large-scale deployment by institutions and enterprises.
At the same time, the official also provides a cloud subscription service of "Wetware-as-a-Service", which costs $300 per unit per week, and provides remote access to internal neuron experiments. This service model effectively lowers the barrier to entry for equipment purchase, and is suitable for education, start-ups, or teams with limited budgets to access the technology ecosystem on an on-demand basis.
Ⅴ Challenges and constraints: Technological bottlenecks and ethical scrutiny coexist
Despite the disruptive technological potential, CL1 faces three core challenges:
1. Neurons have a short lifespan and limited system stability
Neuronal activity in CL1 is maintained for approximately 6 months, after which a new cell population is replaced. Compared with traditional chips, which can run continuously for many years, their system stability and maintenance costs have become the main factors limiting large-scale deployment. Cortical Labs is trying to extend the lifecycle and improve reliability by improving life support systems, improving neuronal culture consistency, and automating packaging.
2. Lack of technical standards and high R&D risks
At present, there is no global unified industry standard for "biological computing", and there is a lack of specifications for the performance evaluation, interface protocol, and long-term reliability of CL1 products, which brings uncertainty to scientific research cooperation and industrial promotion.
3. Ethical and regulatory challenges are emerging
Since CL1 uses human-induced neurons, even if these nerve cells are not conscious, it inevitably raises ethical controversy. How to define the boundaries of "consciousness simulation" and "nerve injury" in the process of use has become a new topic that ethics and policy makers urgently need to address. A number of bioethics scholars have called for the establishment of a dedicated regulatory framework to clarify the boundaries of the legitimate application of "brain-like systems" and prevent the misuse of technology.
Ⅵ Conclusion: The starting point of the integration of AI and life
The advent of CL1 not only marks the commercialization of biocomputing, but also may usher in a new era of integration of AI and life sciences. Its potential in drug discovery, brain-inspired models, artificial intelligence and other fields is gradually being unleashed.
However, in the midst of technological change with both prospects and doubts, enterprises and the scientific research community need to work together to promote technological transparency, ethical standardization and unification of standards, so as to ensure the healthy and sustainable development of this new technology under the premise of legal compliance.
In the future, when biological neurons become part of cloud computing and edge AI, we may usher in a more "organic" computing era. CL1, on the other hand, is likely to be the first cornerstone of this era.
