Naver, the South Korean internet company behind the country’s leading search portal, said on August 13 it invested in Panthalassa, an Oregon-based startup developing wave-powered floating data centers for AI.

The investment comes as Naver expands its AI infrastructure partnerships overseas.

Panthalassa, founded in 2016, has raised US$210 million in total, including a US$140 million series B round in 2026.

The company is developing autonomous floating data centers powered by waves and designed to run AI workloads at sea without land-based power.

Computing results are sent back to shore through low-Earth-orbit satellite links.

The investment comes as Naver and Nvidia plan an initial 55 megawatts of AI infrastructure from 2027, followed by a phased overseas expansion across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Panthalassa plans to deploy its latest wave-powered platform for demonstration in 2026 and aims to commercialize it in 2027.

The company joins an emerging ocean-based data center segment that includes projects from Nautilus Data Technologies, Keppel Data Centres, and Microsoft’s Project Natick.

🔗 Source: Yonhap

Recent Naver developments