"“The future demands more compute than we can imagine,” Thiel said in a statement announcing the funding. “Extra-terrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier.”"
"Panthalassa, sharing the name with the superocean that once surrounded the supercontinent of Pangaea, has designed “nodes” that sit on top of the ocean, with nearly 280-foot-long steel structures extending below the surface. The sphere at the top of the node bobs in the water, with the attached tube oscillating water within it, spinning turbines inside the structure that generate electricity. The structure also holds a hermetically sealed, or airtight, AI server that is cooled by surrounding seawater."
"The funding pushes Panthalassa's valuation close to $1 billion, the Financial Times reported, citing a person familiar with the terms of the deal. Panthalassa didn't immediately respond to Fortune 's request for comment."
"Panthalassa spent years designing Ocean-1 and Ocean-2 prototypes, beginning in 2021, and plans to deploy its most recent Ocean-3 system in the northern Pacific Ocean this year, with commercial deployment to follow in 2027, according to the company."
Panthalassa, a U.S. startup, raised $140 million led by Peter Thiel, valuing the company near $1 billion. The company targets growing AI compute demand that is constrained by aging, weather-vulnerable power grids and limited electricity capacity growth. Panthalassa builds floating “nodes” with nearly 280-foot-long steel structures extending below the ocean surface. A buoyant sphere at the top moves with the waves, driving an oscillating tube that spins turbines to generate electricity. Each node contains a hermetically sealed AI server cooled by surrounding seawater. The company developed Ocean-1 and Ocean-2 prototypes starting in 2021 and plans to deploy Ocean-3 in the northern Pacific this year, with commercial deployment in 2027.
#ai-compute-infrastructure #floating-data-centers #wave-energy #power-grid-constraints #ocean-based-cooling
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