Panthalassa Raises $140M for Floating Wave Energy AI Power Deployment
GRID•Panthalassa secured $140M in Series B funding led by Peter Thiel, with participation from Doerr, Benioff’s TIME Ventures and Levchin’s SciFi Ventures, to deploy autonomous floating wave-energy nodes powering AI chips at sea. The company aims to launch its Ocean-3 pilot this year and commercial systems by 2027.
1. Series B Funding
Panthalassa closed a $140 million Series B financing round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, joined by John Doerr, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, Max Levchin’s SciFi Ventures and Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, as well as returning backers Gigascale Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Unless and WovenEarth.
2. Technology Overview
The company designs autonomous floating wave-energy nodes—giant metal spheres that convert ocean motion into continuous electricity to power onboard AI chips, transmitting inference tokens via satellite. Submerged in the open sea, the nodes leverage natural seawater for supercooling, extending chip lifespan and reducing data center cooling costs.
3. Launch Timeline and Market Outlook
Panthalassa has operated three prototypes since 2016 and plans to launch its Ocean-3 pilot series this year, with commercial deployments slated for 2027. U.S. electricity demand is forecast to rise 25–78% by 2050 and data centers could account for up to 12% of national power consumption by 2028, underscoring strong market potential.
