It was 2021, and the two neurosurgeons were testing Ksendzovsky’s far-fetched college idea: that brain cells could predict the S&P 500. They encoded daily prices into electrical patterns and fed those patterns into a dish filled with living neurons. Then they watched. The neurons didn’t just respond—they recognized patterns in the data. What started as a wild experiment revealed something bigger: that living neurons could be used as a form of compute.

“It was the first proof point,” said Pomeraniec. “We could actually take information from the real world, translate it into a communicable language with biology, put it into a dish full of living neurons, draw something out, and analyze it. And there was no turning back.”

Five years later, Ksendzovsky and Pomeraniec’s The Biological Computing Co. (TBC) has raised $25 million in seed funding, Fortune has learned. Primary led the round, with participation from Builders VC, E1 Ventures, Proximity, Refactor Capital, Tusk Ventures, and Wonder Ventures. The startup’s goal is as simple as it’s futuristic: To position biological computing as a genuine alternative to silicon and transformers. 

“The brain’s a lot more energy efficient than silicon, billions of times more efficient,” Ksendzovsky told Fortune. “So, one of the things we’re able to do is abstract the way neurons respond to information, and mathematically model them… Our current AI systems have gotten to the point where they’ve been extremely inefficient, and require way too much data to train. That’s because they’ve become very unbiological.”

Biological computing, as an idea, traces back to the 1940s and 1950s. And by the 1990s, the idea that living systems could be full-fledged information processors took hold, as researchers built simple systems with DNA and bacteria. However, biological compute has historically been hard to control, optimize, and scale, which has kept its real world applications limited. 

But Ksendzovsky and Pomeraniec believe much is possible, and they’re planning to abstract neuron behavior into products, like an algorithm discovery platform or software adapter. And since you’re probably wondering how this works, it goes something like this: Grow neurons on a grid of electrodes, take some data (for instance, an image or video sequence), convert that data into a pattern of electrical stimulation. Then, the neurons receive that stimulation and “think”: they fire, interact, and form a neural response pattern. They record that electrical activity, and then can turn that data into software. Some simple current use cases include improving images, speeding up classification tasks, and improving video rollout.

Down the line, Ksendzovsky and Pomeraniec believe that biology is the answer to the man-made compute crunch of the AI boom. 

“Our big picture ten-to-20 year plan… is using neurons in real-time compute,” said Ksendzovsky. “In five to ten years, we want these biological networks to be part of the compute circuit, actually sending information in real-time… Data centers can then be less power-hungry, with real biological networks significantly helping. That’s the world that we’re building towards.”

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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VENTURE CAPITAL

- Runway, a New York City-based developer of AI technology designed to simulate worlds and experiences, raised $315 million in Series E funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by NVIDIA, Adobe Ventures, AllianceBernstein, and others.

- Oxide, an Emeryville, Calif.-based cloud computing company, raised $200 million in Series C funding. Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund led the round and was joined by existing investors.

- Vega, a New York City-based cybersecurity platform, raised $120 million in Series B funding. Accel led the round and was joined by Cyberstarts, Redpoint, and CRV.

- Naboo, a Paris, France-based platform designed for booking and managing corporate events, raised $70 million in Series B funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by existing investors.

- Entire, a Seattle, Wash.-based platform designed for collaboration between users and their AI agents, raised $60 million in seed funding. Felicis led the round and was joined by Madrona, M12, and others.

- constellr, a Munich, Germany-based developer of thermal intelligence technology designed to monitor Earth’s temperature from space, raised €37 million ($44 million) in Series A funding. Alpine Space Ventures and Lakestar led the round.

- Trener Robotics, a San Francisco and Trondheim, Norway-based developer of AI software for industrial robots, raised $32 million in Series A funding. Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners led the round and were joined by others.

- Brandlight, a New York City-based AI visibility platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Pelion Venture Partners led the round and was joined by existing investors Cardumen Capital and G20 Ventures.

- Reco, a New York City-based software security company, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Zeev Ventures led the round and was joined by Insight Partners, boldstart ventures, and others.

- Newo, a San Francisco-based voice AI startup, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Ratmir Timashev led the round.

- Lema AI, a New York City-based agentic AI platform designed for enterprise cybersecurity, raised $24 million in Series A funding. Team8 led the round and was joined by F2 Venture Capital and Salesforce Ventures.

- Kainova Therapeutics, a Montreal, Canada-based biopharmaceutical company, raised $32 million CAD ($23.6 million) in Series B funding. Investissement Québec led the round and was joined by existing investors.

- Backslash Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based vibe coding security company, raised $19 million in Series A funding. KOMPAS VC led the round and was joined by Maniv, Artofin Venture Capital, and others.

- Hauler Hero, a New York City-based AI-native platform designed to optimize waste and recycling hauling, raised $16 million in Series A funding. Frontier Growth led the round and was joined by Disruptive Founders Fund, Somersault Ventures, and others.

- Simple AI, a San Francisco-based developer of voice AI agents designed for inbound and outbound business-to-consumer calls, raised $14 million in seed funding. First Harmonic led the round and was joined by Y Combinator, Massive Tech Ventures, and True Ventures.

- Tenna Systems, a New York City-based defense tech company, raised $13.5 million in seed funding. Costanoa led the round and was joined by Viola Ventures, Fresh Fund, 202 Ventures, and existing investors.

- Hubbl Technologies, a Vancouver, Canada-based AI platform designed to help companies use Salesforce better, raised $6 million in Series A funding. Salesforce Ventures led the round and was joined by Industry Ventures.

- Smart Bricks, a San Francisco-based AI lab developing agentic AI infrastructure designed for real-estate investing, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. a16z speedrun led the round and was joined by others.

- The Bland Company, a London, U.K. and Mumbai, India-based company developing proteins from agricultural byproducts, raised $2.7 million in pre-seed funding. Initialized Capital led the round and was joined by Entrepreneurs First, Transpose Platform, Behind Genius Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Vento.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- General Atlantic agreed to take European Wax Center, a Plano, Texas-based waxing services chain, private for approximately $330 million.

- KPS Capital Partners agreed to acquire The Wells Companies, an Albany, Minn.-based concrete solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Sophos, backed by Thoma Bravo, acquired Arco Cyber, a Beaconsfield, U.K.-based cybersecurity data platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Visma, backed by Hg Capital, acquired MaisMei, a Santa Catarina, Brazil-based compliance and business management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOS

- AGI, a Campinas, Brazil-based bank designed for disadvantaged clients, now plans to raise up to $260 million in an offering of 20 million shares priced between $12 and $13. The company posted $1.1 billion in sales for the year ended Sept. 30. Marciano Testa, AGI Partners, Lumina Capital Management, and Vinci Capital Partners back the company.