Neurons over silicon: Singapore plans first biological datacentre

Imagine servers that don’t hum with the intense heat of thousands of power-hungry silicon chips but instead rely on “wetware”, biological neurons grown from stem cells that can process information and power artificial intelligence (AI) workloads with just a fraction of the energy required by classical computers.

This science-fiction scenario could soon be a reality, with DayOne, a Singapore-headquartered global datacentre provider, teaming up with Melbourne-based biocomputing startup Cortical Labs to build Singapore’s first biological datacentre.

Supported by capital and strategic input from DayOne, the project will start off as a prototype at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine).

Founded by Hon Weng Chong, Cortical Labs first grabbed global headlines in 2022 with its DishBrain project, where researchers successfully taught a network of 800,000 in-vitro brain cells to play the classic arcade game Pong within five minutes.

What differentiates the startup’s technology – which caught the eye of Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels – from traditional computing is its reliance on biological intelligence rather than neural networks. Because biological cells naturally strive to reduce unpredictability in their environments, they can learn and adapt with incredible efficiency. More importantly, they consume very little energy and generate almost no heat.

The prototype at NUS Medicine will comprise a single rack of 20 Cortical Cloud units. Under the supervision of Rickie Patani, a professor and director of the neurobiology programme at the NUS Life Sciences Institute, the cells will be cultured and grown to test the system’s viability for complex research.

“Wetware systems can help researchers explore new approaches to learning, adaptation and biological modelling,” said Patani. “Our expertise in neurobiology research, particularly in understanding how to generate specific subtypes of clinically relevant human neurons and glia from stem cells, provides a strong foundation for translating these biological principles into biocomputing platforms.

“For applications such as drug discovery and neurological disease research, the ability to run experiments on brain-like biological networks alongside conventional computing could accelerate hypothesis testing and shorten cycles from laboratory insight to meaningful real-world impact,” he added

Following the validation phase at NUS, the collaboration will transition into a live deployment environment inside a DayOne commercial datacentre in Singapore. The wetware systems will be tested under real-world workloads, tracking compatibility with standard power distribution, contained environmental management systems, and cooling infrastructure. If successful, the partners are exploring a phased expansion that could see up to 1,000 units deployed.

The initiative comes at a time when global datacentre capacity is projected to reach 200 GW by 2030, with power demand for datacentres in Southeast Asia expected to quadruple from 2.6 GW in 2025 to 10.7 GW by 2035. In response, the Singapore government has enacted sustainability policies for the sector, releasing at least 200 MW of new capacity under its green datacentre roadmap.

“Singapore has made it clear that the next chapter of digital infrastructure must be built with sustainability at the core,” Chong said. “AI is moving from novelty to necessity across every sector, but the region’s energy and water realities are forcing a reckoning. This partnership is about giving policymakers and industry a practical alternative: a sustainable pathway to AI adoption that aims to decouple compute growth from a resource footprint.”

For DayOne, wetware offers an alternative computing model for a sector grappling with power availability and grid emissions.

“Singapore is raising the bar for sustainable datacentre growth, and the market is responding with new approaches, beyond just bigger builds,” said Jamie Khoo, CEO of DayOne. “Partnering with Cortical Labs allows us to explore a new compute paradigm that complements Singapore’s and the region’s sustainability-led trajectory, supporting continued innovation while staying aligned to evolving efficiency and greener-energy expectations.”