BBB is already working with ethicists and regulatory experts to ensure its technology is developed responsibly.
Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Graphics processing units (GPUs), the expensive computer chips made by the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Sima.ai, are no longer the only way to train and deploy artificial intelligence. Biological Black Box (BBB), a Baltimore-founded startup developing a new class of AI hardware, has emerged from stealth with its Bionode platform—a computing system that integrates living, lab-grown neurons with traditional processors. The company, which has been operating quietly while filing patents and refining its technology, believes its biological computing approach — growing new neurons specifically to act as computer chips using donor human stem cells and rat-derived cells — could offer a low-power, adaptive alternative to conventional GPUs. "Over the last 20 years, three independent fields—biology, hardware, and computational tools—have advanced to the point where biological computing is now possible," said Alex Ksendzovsky, BBB's co-founder and CEO, in a video call interview with VentureBeat. A member of Nvidia's Inception incubator, BBB is positioning itself as an advancement and augmentation to the dominant silicon-based AI chips that Nvidia and others produce. By leveraging neurons' ability to physically rewire themselves, the company aims to reduce energy costs, improve processing efficiency, and accelerate AI model training—challenges that have become increasingly urgent as AI adoption expands. This isn't sci-fi, despite the incredible premise: BBB's neural chips are already powering computer vision and LLMs for customers, and have entered talks with two partners to license its tech for computer vision apps — though the company declined to name its customers and partners specifically, citing confidentiality agreements. It is accepting inquiries from prospective partners and clients, as well, on its website. Blending biology and…