18 August 2026

Singapore opens first data center using living neurons

• Singapore, DayOne, Cortical Labs, and NUS Medicine activated a biological data center using neurons grown from stem cells instead of traditional silicon chips.
• The living neurons can perform certain computing tasks while consuming far less electricity than conventional server farms, with biological brains using around 20 watts of power.
• This represents the first operational biological data center of its kind in Singapore, marking a shift toward exploring alternative computing substrates.

How it was covered

The NeuronPete Huang & Grant Harvey

DayOne, Cortical Labs, and NUS Medicine turned on Singapore's first biological data center using wetware (neurons grown from stem cells) instead of silicon chips. The newsletter emphasizes that living neurons can handle certain computing tasks using a fraction of the electricity required by normal server farms, with the brain using only about 20 watts of power.