Jakarta, INTI - Renewable energy company Panthalassa has secured US$140 million in funding to develop AI data centers from land to the open sea. This funding round is led by Peter Thiel and several other major investors.
The funds will be used to complete a pilot manufacturing facility near Portland, Oregon, and accelerate the launch of the Ocean-3 unit, a floating AI computing system powered entirely by ocean wave energy. Panthalassa co-founder and CEO Garth Sheldon-Coulson explained that this technology operates in deep-sea areas with high wave energy potential, converted into clean electricity to power computing devices.
"We’re now ready to build factories, deploy fleets, and provide a sustainable new source of energy for humanity," he said.
Removes Land and Water Availability Challenges
Unlike conventional renewable energy systems, Panthalassa's solution does not require a network of submarine cables to land. All computing processes are carried out directly on the floating unit in the middle of the ocean, while the processed data is transmitted to land via a network of low-lying orbit (LEO) satellites. Furthermore, the cold temperature of the seawater is used as a natural coolant to maintain device performance.
Peter Thiel believes that future computing needs will increase dramatically, making off-shore solutions increasingly relevant. He believes this approach is no longer just a futuristic concept, as Panthalassa has begun to unlock the potential of the ocean.
"The future demands more compute than we can imagine. Extraterrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier," he said.
This floating data center concept also aims to address global energy challenges and the limitations of on-shore electrical infrastructure, including issues of cooling water availability, permitting, and environmental impact.
Panthalassa has been developing this technology for nearly a decade, with prototypes such as Ocean-1, Ocean-2, and Wavehopper tested in 2021 and 2024. The company is targeting the launch of Ocean-3 in the North Pacific Ocean in 2026, with plans for full commercial operations in 2027 if testing goes smoothly.
Conclusion
Panthalassa secured US$140 million in funding to develop a floating AI data center powered by ocean wave energy. This system allows computing to be performed directly in the middle of the ocean with data transmitted via satellite and cooling using seawater. This solution aims to overcome the energy and infrastructure limitations of land-based data centers. The company is targeting a 2026 launch of Ocean-3 and full commercial operations by 2027
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