PeopleofSuperintelligence

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Hon Weng Chong

Hon Weng Chong is a technology founder whose work connects living neurons with computing chips. He joined Team StethoCloud for its 2012 Australian Microsoft Imagine Cup win and received Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition in 2016. After leaving CliniCloud in 2018, he founded Cortical Labs in 2019; its neuron-chip experiments explored learning through Pong, and its CL1 reached commercial launch in 2025. In August 2026, he appeared on TIME’s list of 100 influential people in AI as Cortical Labs founder and CEO.

Now at
Cortical Labs

Timeline

  1. 2012

    A digital stethoscope

    He joins Team StethoCloud, whose digital stethoscope supports early diagnosis of childhood pneumonia, as the team wins the Australian finals of the 2012 Microsoft Imagine Cup.

  2. 2016

    Forbes 30 Under 30

    He receives Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition in 2016.

  3. 2018–2019

    Founding Cortical Labs

    He is CliniCloud’s founder and chief technology officer before exiting the business in 2018. He begins exploring brain-cell computing, a concept that leads to Cortical Labs in 2019.

  4. October 2022

    Neuron clusters play Pong

    In October 2022, he describes Cortical Labs’ aim to connect neuron clusters to an embedded silicon chip and says the cells improve with the right stimulus as they play Pong.

  5. March 2025

    Launching the CL1

    In March 2025, Cortical Labs commercially launches the CL1, a biological computer integrating human stem-cell-cultivated neurons with silicon. As the company’s founder and CEO, he calls it the culmination of its vision.

  6. August 2026

    Founder and CEO

    In August 2026, he appears on TIME’s list of 100 influential people in AI as Cortical Labs founder and CEO.

Sources and credits

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  1. Victoria’s got tech talent – students win Imagine Cup challenge news.microsoft.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Hon Weng Chong - Creative Destruction Lab creativedestructionlab.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Talk: How brain cells will transform the future of computing ec.hkust.edu.hk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Hon Weng Chong | Melbourne Grammar School mgs.vic.edu.au. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Cortical Labs launches CL1, the first biological computer itbrief.com.au. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Quem é a única brasileira na lista da Time dos 100 mais influentes em IA | Exame exame.com. Checked 14 October 2026.