Singapore launches biological data centre

Singapore has unveiled the world's first independently operated biological data centre prototype, developed by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in partnership with DayOne and Cortical Labs. The system, housed at the NUS Life Sciences Institute, consists of 20 CL1 biological computing units, each containing lab-grown human neurons on silicon chips, totaling an estimated 16 million neurons. The neurons are fed every three days and kept alive by life-support systems, with an operational lifespan of about six months. The prototype went live on July 16 and was formally demonstrated on August 6 to over 80 guests. Each CL1 unit consumes roughly 30 watts, compared to up to 700 watts for an Nvidia H100 GPU, highlighting potential energy efficiency. The technology is positioned as a complement to conventional AI, particularly for applications with limited data or dynamic conditions, such as drug discovery, robotics, cybersecurity, and fraud detection. DayOne, which raised $4.5 billion in June and achieved a $20 billion valuation, is reportedly considering scaling to 1,000 units. The project represents a proof of concept for biological computing, though it has not yet demonstrated superiority over conventional AI infrastructure on mainstream workloads.