--- title: "This Startup’s Computer Chips Are Powered by Human Neurons" description: "Australian startup Cortical Labs is building tiny artificial intelligence-powered computer chips that use biological neurons extracted from mice." date: "2020-04-01" modified: "2020-04-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/startup-computer-chips-powered-human-neurons" categories: - "Computers" - "Computing" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "artificial neurons" - "mini brains" - "neurons" --- # This Startup’s Computer Chips Are Powered by Human Neurons ![Australian startup Cortical Labs is building tiny artificial intelligence-powered computer chips that use biological neurons extracted from mice.]() *\Image: Images via Pikrepo/Victor Tangermann\* Australian startup Cortical Labs is building computer chips that use biological neurons extracted from mice and humans, [*Fortune* reports](). The goal is to dramatically lower the amount of power current artificial intelligence systems need to operate by mimicking the way the human brain. According to Cortical Labs' announcement, the company is planning to "build technology that harnesses the power of synthetic biology and the full potential of the human brain" in order to create a "new class" of AI that could solve "society's greatest challenges." The mouse neurons are extracted from embryos, according to *Fortune*, but the human ones are created by turning skin cells back into stem cells and then into neurons. The idea of using biological neurons to power computers isn't new. Cortical Labs' announcement comes one week after a group of European researchers managed to turn on a [working neural network]() that allows biological and silicon-based brain cells to communicate with each other over the internet. Researchers at MIT have also [attempted]() to use bacteria, not neurons, to build a computing system in 2016. As of right now, Cortical's mini-brains have less processing power than a dragonfly brain. The company is looking to get its mouse-neuron-powered chips to be capable of playing a game of "Pong," as CEO Hon Weng Chong told *Fortune,* following the footsteps of AI company DeepMind, which used the game to test the power of its AI algorithms back in 2013. "What we are trying to do is show we can shape the behavior of these neurons," Chong told *Fortune*. **READ MORE:** [A startup is building computer chips using human neurons]() \[*Fortune*\] **More on neurons:** *[Artificial and Biological Neurons Just Talked Over the Internet]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()