Rat Brain AI Joins AWS in Biological Computing Push
Original: AI Models Built From Rat Brains Just Got Closer to Reality
Why This Matters
AWS backing signals biological computing is moving from lab curiosity to enterprise infrastructure.
The Biological Computing Company (TBC) will offer its rat-brain-derived AI model to select AWS customers starting Tuesday in a limited preview. Founded by two neuroscientists in Baltimore, TBC raised $25M in March 2026 and is targeting video-generation AI efficiency through biological neural pattern processing.
TBC, a Baltimore-based startup co-founded by neuroscientists Alexander Ksendzovsky and Jon Pomeraniec four years ago, has partnered with Amazon Web Services to bring its biological AI model to enterprise cloud customers. The system works by encoding information — images, for example — into rat brain cell cultures, observing how the biological tissue processes that input, and then building software tools that replicate the behavior. The initial focus is improving AI video generation.
AWS is no stranger to the space. Deap Ubhi, global director of technology for startups at AWS, confirmed the cloud giant also partners with Cortical Labs, an Australian company that pairs lab-grown neurons with silicon chips and sells 'wetware as a service.' TBC's pitch, Ubhi says, is more pragmatic: rather than rearchitecting transformers, TBC works within existing generative AI frameworks to make visual models more efficient.
Earlier this year TBC closed a $25M Series A led by Primary Venture Partners — its first significant raise. The AWS listing follows shortly after. Biological computing faces real operational hurdles: companies must run actual biology labs, keep living cells viable, and translate organic activity into usable digital signals. But AI's relentless efficiency pressure is pushing the once-fringe field closer to mainstream consideration.