South Korean cloud company Naver has thrown its weight behind offshore wave-powered data center startup Panthalassa.

The company said it had invested in the US startup to strengthen its competitiveness in next-generation AI data center technologies powered by renewable energy.

The exact amount invested was not disclosed. DCD has reached out for further information.

Based in Washington, Panthalassa is developing a floating data center platform dubbed Ocean-3, an autonomous, self-propelled platform designed to generate clean wave energy to power a modular AI data center. The platform generates energy by harnessing ocean waves, with water forced through an internal turbine as the unit rises and falls.

According to the company, the platform has no anchors or cables connecting it to land or the seabed, and thus acts as a self-contained unit. Instead of transmitting data back to land via a direct link, the company claims it can beam compute results from the data center via satellite. The company asserts that, if scaled, its platform could provide a clean and affordable alternative to land-based data centers, with power generation costs potentially as low as $0.02 per kWh.

The company plans to deploy its Ocean-3 platform for testing this year, targeting commercialization in 2027.

The company is not the only firm that has looked to develop data centers offshore. Most recently, floating wind firm Aikido 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.

Naver offers public cloud services through its multi-region Ncloud and its on-premise Neurocloud service. The company currently operates three data centers within South Korea. Last November, the company announced that it was expanding its Sejong facility to 270MW, with the works expected to be finished sometime in 2029.

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