Entrainment, Extension, and Emergence: Investing in Living Neural Computation

What if the next leap in computing doesn’t come from faster GPUs or more efficient transformer models, but from a living system that learns with us, grows with us, and—sometimes—outgrows us?

This is the question at the heart of in vitro biocomputing: linking living neural tissue with silicon and AI in ways that could open entirely new computational frontiers. The promise is not simply that biology is alive, but that it can be entrained by the human brain itself—pulled into states of organization and intelligence it could not reach alone.

Does being alive guarantee a breakthrough?

No. Building a calculator of living cells does not automatically create a value proposition for computation. Investors know this better than anyone: what matters is whether a technology delivers a return—whether in performance, efficiency, or human impact.

We’ve seen this before. Silicon neuromorphic chips like Loihi and TrueNorth, for all their elegance, never found product-market fit because they couldn’t plug into the workloads that mattered. Biocomputing could suffer the same fate if we expect it to solve the wrong problem.

So the real question is: where does living computation do something no other substrate can?

Are niches enough?

Every dominant technology begins in a niche. CMOS started in digital watches before it conquered the world. What if biocomputing’s first “watch” isn’t a mass-market product at all, but a specialized system that thrives where backprop-trained models stumble—on uncurated data, in one-shot learning, in ultra-low-power edge environments? Would you invest in the transistor if you’d only seen it power a wristwatch? History says yes.

What if the killer app isn’t a computer, but a companion?

Perhaps the most compelling opportunity is not standalone computation, but coupling biocomputing to the human brain itself. When living neural tissue is linked to a person, it doesn’t just compute—it entrains, learning from neural rhythms that underlie thought, memory, and creativity.

Could this be the deepest use case? Imagine a network of in vitro brain organoids and 3D-printed neural constructs, collectively acting first as an extracranial extension via brain-computer interfaces, helping a child with epilepsy stabilize their neural circuits. Over time, that same tissue might toggle roles: from support system to independent computational partner, carrying forward a learned intelligence that reflects its shared history with a human mind.

What other technology can do that?

What if healing creates something new?

Think of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which was designed as a bridge to transplant but sometimes helps the heart recover so well the transplant is no longer needed. Now imagine the neurological equivalent: a living neural assist system that supports a person through trauma or disease—and in the process, becomes an entirely new entity, capable of computation on its own.

Could an investment in healing also yield a new form of intelligence?

A chance to grow

As Reinhold Niebuhr warned, civilizations perish when they mistake technology for a final good. And yet, as Vannevar Bush argued, to stop now—to abandon the frontier of science just as it could help us grow in wisdom—would be a singularly unfortunate time to lose hope.

So here is the invitation: Can we invest in living computation not just to calculate faster, but to cultivate compassion, resilience, and creativity? Can we imagine systems that heal before they scale, and that partner with us rather than replace us?

For the investor, the question is not “Will this topple transformers tomorrow?” but “What small niches today could seed a revolution tomorrow?"

You are invited to imagine the unit economics and exit strategy might be, and keep in mind what Vinod Khosla has said, “The riskiest investments are often the most impactful. If you’re not willing to risk being wrong, you’ll never invest in something that could be truly right.”

What is the right intention here? How can we ensure that every endeavor can be guided by generosity, wisdom, and compassion? Can living computation help us cultivate our better human qualities?

The benefit of this work will not be measured only in technical milestones or financial exits, but in whether it enables us to grow in compassion, to restore dignity to those who suffer, and to imagine new ways of being human together.