NeuronSoup evolves a 115 KB async network with no backpropagation.

arXiv 2607.15217 replaces synchronous layer-by-layer processing with delay-mediated asynchronous propagation through a shared neuron pool, co-evolving topology, weights, delays, and connectivity via a genetic algorithm across a 14,602-gene genome. 204 active paths through 266 hidden neurons, 156 shared, one neuron participating in 11 paths. 85.9% on MNIST features, which is bad. The task is easy and the accuracy is modest, so read this as architecture exploration, not a performance claim. The interesting parts are per-sample adaptive compute depth and the 115 KB model size.