Data centers are presented as essential for AI-driven economic growth. Local opposition is described as increasingly delaying or canceling planned facilities. A tech billionaire is linked to funding a startup aiming to build floating data centers. The startup, Panthalassa, is reported to have received $140 million and to plan an experimental fleet deployment in the northern Pacific Ocean. By 2027, the first commercially viable installation is planned as a wave-powered, floating data center. The feasibility at scale is uncertain, with a prior seaborne data center experiment reportedly shut down by Microsoft in 2024. Similar research is said to be underway in China.
"The future demands more compute than we can imagine. Extra-terrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier."
"With more than half of the data centers planned to open in 2026 either severely delayed or cancelled, the former PayPal CEO has reportedly dumped $140 million into Panthalassa, a $1 billion US-based startup looking to build a fleet of floating data centers."
"In his announcement of the deal, Thiel deployed some UFO-sounding language to promote the project. "The future demands more compute than we can imagine," he said. "Extra-terrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier.""
"The company plans to deploy an experimental data center fleet in the northern Pacific Ocean sometime this year. By 2027, the company plans to launch its first commercially-viable installation, a bobbing data center powered by the ocean waves. Whether it can work at scale is anybody's guess."
#ai-infrastructure #data-centers #floatingseaborne-technology #venture-funding #energy-and-power-systems
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