Clean energy and ocean technology company Panthalassa announced that it has raised $140 million in a Series B funding round led by Paypal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, with proceeds from the financing aimed at advancing its technology to power AI computing using zero emissions energy generated by ocean waves.
According to Panthalassa, the new financing comes as terrestrial data centers face mounting constraints with surging demand for electricity and computing, including limited grid capacity, cooling water scarcity, supply chain bottlenecks, permitting delays, and impacts on local communities and infrastructure.
Thiel said:
“The future demands more compute than we can imagine. Extra-terrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier.”
Founded in 2016, Portland, Oregon-based Panthalassa has developed technology to power AI computing using ocean waves. The company’s produces nodes that capture wave energy and use it to generate clean electricity and run AI computing onboard, with data transmitted by low-Earth-orbit satellites. The nodes operate in the distant ocean and use the energy directly onboard to power AI chips, rather than transmitting the energy back to terrestrial grids. The location of the nodes also solves a key challenge for AI infrastructure, with the surrounding ocean provides free supercooling as well.
Garth Sheldon-Coulson, Co-Founder and CEO of Panthalassa, said:
“There are three sources of energy on the planet with tens of terawatts of new capacity potential: solar, nuclear, and the open ocean. We’ve built a technology platform that operates in the planet’s most energy-dense wave regions, far from shore, and turns that resource into reliable clean power. We’re now ready to build factories, deploy fleets, and provide a sustainable new source of energy for humanity.”
Panthalassa has deployed prototypes of its nodes in 2021 and 2024, Ocean-1 and Ocean-2, respectively. The new capital will enable the company to complete its pilot manufacturing facility near Portland and accelerate the deployment of its Ocean-3 series of nodes, planned for the northern Pacific Ocean in 2026. The company said that it is in aiming for commercial deployments in 2027.
In addition to Thiel, the financing round included participation from several new high-profile tech and sustainability-focused investors, such as John Doerr, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, Max Levchin’s SciFi Ventures, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Hanwha Asset Management (USA)’s venture fund, Anthony Pratt, Fortescue Ventures, Future Positive, WTI, Nimble Partners, Super Micro Computer, Sozo Ventures, Dylan Field, Planetary VC, Leblon Capital, Resilience Reserve, Portland Seed Fund, and the Intrepid Oregon Fund, in addition to returning investors Founders Fund, Gigascale Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Unless, and WovenEarth.
John Doerr said:
“Panthalassa’s autonomous wave power system is a game changer in addressing global energy needs and clean power generation. It is a triple win: workers benefit, communities benefit, and we gain a strategic asset that strengthens American technological leadership.”
