Network Ocean

Network Ocean builds and operates floating and underwater data centers that use seawater for cooling, aiming to cut power usage by up to 30% versus land-based facilities while eliminating their water consumption entirely. The San Francisco-based company offers floating data-center barges scalable beyond 200MW alongside underwater capsules, targeting high-density GPU deployments for AI compute, and has made thousands of Nvidia H100 GPUs available for reservation.

Founded in 2023 by Sam Mendel and Eric Kim, who met in high school building underwater power generators together, Network Ocean launched out of Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch with plans to test a 0.5MW capsule beneath San Francisco Bay. The proposal drew scrutiny from Bay Area regulators, including the Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, over the environmental impact of testing without a permit — a debate that has become emblematic of the wider tension between fast-moving AI-infrastructure innovation and established environmental review.