China Unleashes 'Darwin Monkey' Supercomputer To Mimic A Macaque Brain

China Introduces "Darwin Monkey," A Brain-Inspired Supercomputer Emulating Macaque Neural Structure

Beijing, PRC - Chinese scientists have revealed "Darwin Monkey," also called "Wukong," a neuromorphic supercomputer built to mimic the neural architecture of a macaque brain. Created by researchers at Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Lab-a collaborative effort between the Zhejiang provincial government and Alibaba Group-this platform boasts more than 2 billion artificial neurons and 100 billion synapses. It marks a noteworthy leap forward in brain-inspired computing, nearly equalling the neuron count of a macaque.

The Darwin Monkey system incorporates the Darwin 3 processor, which employs brain-inspired instruction sets and on-chip learning algorithms. This arrangement harnesses spiking neural networks (SNNs), a shift away from conventional artificial neural networks that depend on classic computing principles and continuous binary data handling. SNNs emulate how biological neurons convey signals by reacting to electrical stimuli and processing information through discrete "spikes" or bursts of activity, firing only when sufficient electrical input has accumulated.

Technical Specifications and Performance Metrics

The supercomputer's architecture is powered by 960 Darwin III neuromorphic chips, each capable of supporting up to 2.35 million spiking neurons. Despite its intricacy and processing prowess, the Darwin Monkey is reported to draw roughly 2,000 watts of power-about the same as a typical electric kettle or hairdryer. This level of energy efficiency contrasts sharply with that of conventional high-performance computing systems.

For perspective, the former leader in neuromorphic computing, Intel's Hala Point system, contains 1.15 billion artificial neurons and 128 billion artificial synapses across 140,544 processing cores, delivering an estimated 20 petaops (20 quadrillion operations per second). While exact peta-operation figures for Darwin Monkey have not been disclosed, its capacity to host a larger tally of artificial neurons positions it as a formidable contender in the arena.

Applications and Strategic Objectives

Researchers outline two main goals for Darwin Monkey: serving as a simulation platform for neuroscientists and acting as a stepping stone toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). AGI denotes AI systems that exhibit human-like intelligence and reasoning abilities. The system has already shown competence in cognitive tasks such as logical reasoning, content generation, and mathematical problem-solving, utilizing an AI model developed by the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

In addition, the platform is being applied to broader brain-science investigations to emulate animal brains with varying neural complexities, including those of zebrafish and mice. This work builds on earlier projects, like the launch of Darwin Mouse ("Mickey") in September 2020, which featured 120 million artificial neurons and mirrored the neural structure of a mouse.

Implications for AI and Neuroscience

The emergence of Darwin Monkey highlights a worldwide movement toward weaving neuroscience concepts into advanced computing architectures. By copying the energy-efficient, event-driven processing of biological brains, neuromorphic systems aim to overcome several constraints of traditional Von Neumann designs, especially in domains that demand intricate pattern recognition, adaptive learning, and low-power operation.

This progress aligns with a broader international emphasis on creating more efficient and biologically plausible AI systems. The capacity to simulate extensive neural structures at this scale could grant neuroscientists unprecedented tools for probing brain function, potentially hastening breakthroughs in neurological disorder research and the comprehension of cognitive mechanisms. For AI, platforms like Darwin Monkey embody a hardware-software co-design paradigm that may pave the way for more sophisticated and embodied forms of artificial intelligence.

References:

• China's Darwin Monkey is the world's largest brain-inspired supercomputer, Live Science, Owen Hughes, 2025-08-28.
• China Unveils World's Largest-Scale Brain-Computer, Interesting Engineering.
• An 8-core 15-chip neuromorphic computing system with 120 million neurons to simulate a mouse brain, National Science Review.