NUS Medicine: NUS Medicine, DayOne and Cortical Labs Unveil Biological Data Center Prototype in Singapore
Photo credit: NUS Medicine
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) is partnering with DayOne, a Singapore-headquartered global data centre developer and operator, and Cortical Labs, a Melbourne-based biological computing startup, to establish a groundbreaking Biological Data Centre prototype at the NUS Life Sciences Institute. A Biological Data Centre represents a new generation of computing infrastructure. Instead of relying solely on conventional silicon chips, it uses “wetware” — living biological neurons derived from stem cells — to process information and support AI systems. In contrast to traditional data centres, which depend on energy-intensive servers, biological computing offers the potential for significantly greater efficiency by harnessing brain-like organoids that can operate using only a fraction of the power required by digital computers. At the heart of this effort is NUS Medicine’s expertise in neurobiology. The cells will be cultured and grown under the supervision of Professor Rickie Patani, Professor of Neuroscience at NUS Medicine, Director of the Neurobiology Programme at the NUS Life Sciences Institute, and Chair of the Neuroscience Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine.- NUS Medicine, 17 August 2026
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The Straits Times: Forget silicon chip servers, Singapore’s newest data centre needs to be fed
Photo credit: The Straits Times
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Neuroscience Professor Rickie Patani, who oversees a biological data centre in National University of Singapore in collaboration with Cortical Labs and DayOne. Singapore’s first biological data centre comprises 20 units of biological computers (CL1s). Each CL1 unit houses at least 200,000 lab-grown neurons sitting on an electrode-fitted silicon chip. These living neurons, derived from blood cells reprogrammed into stem cells, exchange electrical signals with a computer, where their neural activity is translated into raw computing power. - The Straits Times, 15 August 2026
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