The Melbourne-based company Cortical Labs launched the CL1 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, which uses lab-grown neurons that grow across a silicon chip, which allows them to send and receive electrical impulses.

Users can then deploy code through the neurons in order for it to perform computing tasks and the neurons are kept alive for up to six months with an internal life support system.

Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, told New Atlas: “A simple way to describe it would be like a body in a box."

Cortical Labs states on its website: “The neuron is self programming, infinitely flexible, and the result of four billion years of evolution.

“Our technology merges biology with traditional computing to create the ultimate learning machine... Unlike traditional AI, our neural systems require minimal energy and training data to master complex tasks.”

The first CL1 computers will be ready to ship in June.