Background

Brett Kagan is Chief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs, an Australian biotechnology company pioneering the world’s first commercial biological computers that fuse lab-cultivated neurons from human stem cells with silicon chips. His work bridges neuroscience, computational biology, and hardware engineering to create novel computing substrates powered by living neural tissue.

Key Contributions

Dr. Kagan gained international recognition for leading the DishBrain experiment (2022), which demonstrated that lab-grown neurons could learn and exhibit goal-directed behavior when embodied in a simulated game environment. The neurons successfully learned to play Pong by processing electrical signals representing game states—a landmark achievement that validated the principle of in vitro neuronal learning and provided evidence for the Free Energy Principle proposed by Professor Karl Friston. This groundbreaking research established proof-of-concept that biological neural networks possess intrinsic learning and adaptation capabilities, opening new possibilities for biological computing applications.

Current Work

Kagan is driving development of CL1, Cortical Labs’ world’s first commercially available biological computer, which became accessible to early users in 2025. He has been proactive in addressing ethical considerations surrounding biological computing, ensuring that Cortical Labs’ research is grounded in rigorous ethical frameworks. The company collaborates with independent international bioethicists, philosophers, and regulatory experts to continuously evaluate and address ethical concerns related to in vitro neuronal systems, establishing high standards for responsible innovation in this emerging field.