Silicon Valley tech investors are investing over $200 million into a plan to build floating AI data centers powered by ocean waves. The idea is designed to avoid the hassle of building massive server farms on land. Billionaire investor and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has led the $140 million funding round for Panthalassa's development of wave-powered “nodes” that float in the middle of the ocean while running AI systems. The floating structures would generate electricity on-site and directly power AI chips onboard, sending results back to customers globally via satellite connections. The concept of ocean-based data centers isn't entirely new, with Microsoft's Project Natick initiative exploring the idea in 2015 and 2018 before shelving it. However, critics have suggested that the floating vessels could propel themselves through waves without engines, and may have inadvertently solved a bigger economic problem of shipping.