Microsoft and Swiss startup Inait announced a partnership to develop AI models inspired by mammalian brains. The technology aims to serve the finance industry and robotics applications.
Microsoft and Lausanne-based startup Inait announced a partnership on Tuesday to develop AI models based on brain simulations. According to the announcement, Microsoft plans to use Inait's technology to expand its AI offerings for business customers.
Inait's technology is based on twenty years of brain research. "The only proven form of intelligence is in the brain and if we could master the brain, then we could do a very different, very powerful, novel kind of AI," says Inait CEO Richard Frey.
The technology promises a key advantage: unlike conventional AI systems, it's designed to learn from real experiences rather than just existing data. According to Henry Markram, founder of Inait, the technology is built on 18 million lines of code that simulate mammalian brains.
More energy-efficient with faster learning
The brain-based AI models are designed to be more energy-efficient and learn faster than existing systems, while continuing to learn even after being delivered to customers, Markram explains.
"Inait is pioneering a new AI paradigm—moving beyond traditional data-based models to digital brains capable of true cognition," says Adir Ron, Microsoft EMEA Cloud & AI Director for Startups.
The partnership initially focuses on two areas: developing advanced trading algorithms and risk management tools for the financial sector, and creating industrial robots that can better adapt to complex and dynamic environments.
Inait founder is a neuroscience pioneer with a history
Inait builds on 20 years of brain simulation research. Founder Markram is a pioneer in this field and was the founder and director of the Swiss Blue Brain Project, which aimed to digitally reconstruct rodent brains. He was also the founder and first director of the Human Brain Project, which launched in 2013 with a budget of around one billion euros. The HBP's goal was to understand and recreate the human brain through computer models and simulations.
Markram's grand vision for the HBP was to create a complete simulation of the human brain on a supercomputer within ten years – a claim he made publicly in a 2009 TED Talk. This ambitious goal was met with skepticism and criticism in the scientific community, with many considering it unrealistic.
The HBP quickly ran into turbulence. Markram was criticized for his leadership style and promises that many considered exaggerated. In 2014, hundreds of neuroscientists signed an open letter condemning the project's management, particularly Markram's approach. In 2015, he was removed as the HBP's director and his role was reduced to leading a subproject (Brain Simulation Platform). The HBP itself evolved from the original vision of a complete brain simulation to a broader research network covering various aspects of neuroscience and neuroinformatics. The project ended in September 2023.
While the HBP didn't deliver the promised complete brain simulation, it contributed to the development of tools like the EBRAINS platform, which provides neuroscientists worldwide with data and simulation capabilities.
