A startup leveraging neural patterns from rat brain cells to build artificial intelligence has secured a significant partnership with Amazon. Beginning this Tuesday, select Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers will gain access to The Biological Computing Company’s (TBC) “rat brain” AI model through a limited preview program.
TBC’s technology is specifically engineered to enhance video generation within the AI space. Both AWS and TBC have indicated that the technology is expected to expand to all AWS enterprise customers shortly following this initial rollout.
“We figured out a way to code information, like images for example, to the biological material,” said TBC cofounder Alexander Ksendzovsky. “We then observe how the biology processes that information, and then we build a tool that mimics that process.”
This collaboration marks another entry for Amazon’s marketplace featuring biologically derived computing. Deap Ubhi, global director of technology for startups at AWS, noted that the cloud giant also collaborates with Cortical Labs, an Australia-based firm that integrates lab-grown neurons with silicon chips for data processing under its “wetware as a service” (WAAS) initiative. Cortical Labs also offers a multi-thousand dollar biological computer designed for laboratory use, capable of sustaining neurons for up to six months.
Ubhi described TBC’s strategy as a “pragmatic approach,” highlighting it as a key factor in Amazon’s interest. Rather than attempting to overhaul the transformer architecture that powers large language models, TBC is working within existing generative AI standards to improve the efficiency of current visual models.
As artificial intelligence developers race to find methods for making their models more efficient, biological computing is transitioning from a fringe concept to a field gaining traction. Researchers have long envisioned software that operates similarly to the neural networks found in human brains, moving beyond purely math-based algorithms.
However, the field faces distinct challenges. It requires functioning biology laboratories, not just computer centers, where brain cells, stem cells, or synthetic biomaterials must be kept alive, meticulously monitored, and translated into usable digital data. Bridging the gap between biological processes and digital code remains a complex undertaking.
TBC was established four years ago in Baltimore, Maryland, by neuroscientist and neurosurgeon Alexander Ksendzovsky and his colleague Jon Pomeraniec, who currently serves as president and COO. Earlier this year, the company raised $25 million in its first major funding round, led by Primary Venture Partners.
AWS is betting big on wetware. Cortical Labs and now TBC—this ‘biological computing’ trend is moving fast from fringe to mainstream.
How do they handle the lab upkeep for living cells at scale? The biology part sounds like a massive bottleneck.
I never thought I’d see rat brains powering enterprise video generation. The pragmatism here is fascinating, though.