South Korean cloud company Naver has invested in Panthalassa, a Washington-based startup developing floating, wave-powered data centers, as it seeks to strengthen its position in next-generation AI infrastructure powered by renewable energy. The exact sum invested was not disclosed.

A Self-Contained Platform With No Anchors or Land Connections

Panthalassa is developing a floating data center platform called Ocean-3, which it describes as an autonomous, self-propelled unit capable of generating clean energy from ocean waves to power a modular AI data center.

The platform works by harnessing the motion of ocean waves, with water forced through an internal turbine as the unit rises and falls on the water's surface.

The company says the Ocean-3 platform operates with no anchors or cables connecting it to the land or seabed, making it a fully self-contained unit.

Rather than transmitting data back to shore through a direct physical link, Panthalassa says it can beam compute results from the platform to land via satellite.

The company claims that if deployed at scale, its platform could offer a clean and affordable alternative to land-based data centers, with power generation costs potentially as low as USD 0.02 per kilowatt-hour.

Panthalassa plans to deploy the Ocean-3 platform for testing this year, with commercialization targeted for 2027.

Naver's Renewable Energy Ambitions

Naver's investment in Panthalassa fits into a broader push by the company to align its data center operations with renewable energy sources.

In April, Naver bolstered its clean energy portfolio with a 25-year wind Power Purchase Agreement with South Korean renewable energy firm GS Wind Power. The company intends to use the contracted capacity to power its data centers in Sejong and Chuncheon.

Last November, Naver announced it was expanding its Sejong facility to 270 megawatts, with that work expected to be completed sometime in 2029.

The company currently operates three data centers within South Korea and offers public cloud services through its multi-region Ncloud platform and its on-premises Neurocloud service.

The company said the Panthalassa investment is intended to strengthen its competitiveness in next-generation AI data center technologies powered by renewable energy, though it provided no further detail on what form that involvement might take operationally.

Growing Interest in Offshore Data Center Infrastructure

Panthalassa is not alone in exploring offshore environments as a potential site for data center infrastructure.

Floating wind firm Aikido recently announced its entrance into the data center space with the launch of a floating offshore wind platform integrated with a modular AI-focused data center.

The approach of taking compute infrastructure offshore, whether powered by wind or wave energy, reflects growing interest in finding alternatives to land-based facilities that face increasing pressure around power availability and environmental impact.

Panthalassa's Ocean-3 platform represents one of the more unconventional proposals in that space, relying specifically on wave energy rather than wind or solar generation to provide power to its onboard data center.

The company's assertion that the platform can transmit compute results via satellite rather than through a physical connection to land adds another layer of operational independence to its design.

With testing of the Ocean-3 platform expected to begin this year and commercialization targeted for 2027, Naver's backing gives the startup a significant international partner as it moves toward proving out its technology at sea.