Sorry Anker: JMGO now makes my favorite flagship portable projector.
Technology
AI data centers may soon ride ocean waves
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Artificial intelligence (AI) already shows up in your phone, your searches and plenty of apps you use every day. Now, some Silicon Valley investors are betting the machines behind those AI answers could one day run at sea.
A company called Panthalassa has raised $140 million in new funding to develop and deploy autonomous, floating AI computing nodes powered by ocean waves. The Series B round brings Panthalassa’s total funding to $210 million, a sign that investors are taking this ocean-based AI idea seriously. The round was led by Peter Thiel, the Palantir co-founder, and the company says the money will help complete a pilot manufacturing facility near Portland, Oregon. Panthalassa also plans to deploy its Ocean-3 pilot node series in the northern Pacific Ocean later in 2026.
Instead of building another giant AI data center on land, Panthalassa wants to place computing power out at sea. Ocean waves would generate electricity. Seawater would help with cooling. Onboard computing systems would process AI prompts and send the results back to land through low-Earth-orbit satellites.
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Panthalassa’s Ocean-2 prototype rides in open water during testing, giving a real-world look at the kind of floating wave-energy system behind the company’s ocean AI plan. (Panthalassa)
How AI data centers at sea could work
Panthalassa’s floating nodes are designed to capture wave motion and turn it into electricity. The company says it has spent a decade developing the technology behind its power generation, onboard computing and autonomous ocean operations. Its earlier Ocean-1, Ocean-2 and Wavehopper prototypes were tested in 2021 and 2024. Think of each node like a floating power station with AI hardware inside. Waves move the system. That motion helps drive a generator. The power then feeds the onboard chips.
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The company’s plan is to use those chips for AI inference. That is the part of AI where a model responds to your prompt after it has already been trained. In simple terms, it is what happens when you ask a chatbot a question and get an answer back. That makes the ocean plan a little easier to understand. Training massive AI models requires huge data movement and tight coordination. Answering prompts may be more realistic for a floating node, at least in some situations.
Why AI data centers are moving offshore
AI data centers need huge amounts of electricity. They also need space, cooling systems and local support from communities that may not want a massive facility nearby. Those problems have pushed companies to look for unusual answers. Ocean-based computing is one of them.
Panthalassa says its nodes would operate far from shore in wave-rich parts of the ocean. The goal is to use that wave energy directly onboard instead of sending the power back to land. “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,” said Garth Sheldon-Coulson, Panthalassa’s co-founder and CEO.
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The ocean also offers cold surrounding water. That could help cool the chips onboard. Cooling is a major issue because data centers produce a lot of heat. Panthalassa is taking a different path from traditional land-based data centers. Instead of pulling more power from the grid, it wants floating nodes that generate their own electricity from waves.
A SUPERCOMPUTER CHIP GOING TO SPACE COULD CHANGE LIFE ON EARTH
The Ocean-2 prototype sits inside a coastal facility, showing the size and shape of Panthalassa’s floating node before deployment at sea. (Panthalassa)
The satellite problem for ocean AI data centers
The ocean may help with power and cooling, but it creates another problem: connection. Traditional data centers rely on high-capacity fiber-optic connections because they need to move huge amounts of data fast. A floating node far out at sea may depend on low-Earth-orbit satellite links. That can work for some AI responses, but it may be slower and more limited than fiber.
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The challenge grows when multiple nodes need to work together. AI systems often depend on fast communication between chips, servers and storage. If those parts are floating in the ocean and talking by satellite, coordination gets harder. That means AI data centers at sea may not replace land-based data centers anytime soon. They may be better suited for certain AI tasks where the model can live onboard, and the response does not require constant back-and-forth with other machines.
Repairing floating AI nodes could be difficult
There is another practical question: What happens when something breaks? A land-based data center can send in technicians. A floating AI node in rough seas may need a ship, special equipment and the right weather window. That adds cost and delay.
Panthalassa says it is developing autonomous systems meant for harsh ocean conditions. Its press release says Ocean-3 testing is meant to demonstrate AI inference and refine manufacturing before commercial deployments in 2027. Still, the ocean is brutal. Saltwater eats away at equipment. Storms can turn a routine repair into a major operation. Constant motion also puts stress on the hardware. For this plan to work, Panthalassa will have to show that each node can keep running for years in harsh ocean conditions without frequent human repairs.
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Panthalassa’s Ocean-2 prototype is transported by barge, a reminder that building AI infrastructure at sea also means solving major deployment and maintenance challenges. (Panthalassa)
Ocean data centers have been tested before
Ocean data centers are not new. Microsoft experimented with underwater data center servers through Project Natick, including tests in 2015 and 2018. Those tests showed that sealed underwater servers could run reliably while using seawater for cooling, with Microsoft reporting a lower failure rate than comparable land-based systems. Microsoft later ended the project.
Chinese companies have also reportedly pushed ahead with underwater data center projects near Hainan and Shanghai. Keppel has explored floating data center designs in Singapore, where land constraints make the concept especially attractive. Panthalassa’s plan goes in a different direction. It combines wave power with onboard AI chips and satellite-based results. It also depends on floating nodes that would need to operate far from the kind of support a normal data center gets. That is why the idea is getting attention. It is also why skepticism is fair.
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What AI data centers at sea mean for you
For now, this will not change how your phone or computer works. You will not suddenly see a “powered by ocean waves” label on your favorite AI app. But the bigger picture affects everyone. AI needs an incredible amount of electricity. As more companies add AI tools to their products, they need more places to run those systems. That pressure can affect energy grids, water use, local battles over new data centers and even your utility bills over time.
Panthalassa argues its approach could reduce the need for new data centers and power plants on land. That could ease pressure on local communities and the grid, but the company still has to prove the system can work reliably at sea. If ocean-based AI moves beyond testing, it could also raise fresh questions about marine maintenance, environmental oversight and who controls computing infrastructure in international waters.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Everyone is using AI on their phones and computers these days, but the heavy lifting often happens in huge data centers behind the scenes. That is why Panthalassa’s ocean plan is getting attention. The company wants to use waves for power and seawater for cooling. The hard part is proving that floating AI nodes can survive rough seas, limited satellite links and complicated maintenance. If Panthalassa can pull it off, ocean-based AI could become part of the tech we use every day. If it cannot, it may show just how difficult it is to keep feeding AI’s growing demand for power.
If this kind of ocean-powered AI takes off, would you worry about what these floating nodes could mean for our oceans? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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The N3 Ultimate is an excellent portable 4K projector that defeats moderate ambient light at severe placement angles and can rival more expensive home theater installations at night. After a few weeks of testing, I think the raw adaptability exhibited by the JMGO’s N3 Ultimate justifies its current $2,399 price ($500 off its $2,999 list).
Modern all-in-one projectors built around Google TV are already super accommodating when it comes to placement. Set one down on a living room table or campsite rock and it will begin searching for a screen or blank wall while avoiding obstacles to project a focused, color-corrected image that’s properly aligned. But these techniques typically resort to digital optimizations that degrade image brightness, resolution, and responsiveness. To avoid this, it’s always best to place a projector directly in front of the projection surface.
JMGO’s N3 Ultimate projector promises “lossless placement” by mounting it on a motorized gimbal that rotates horizontally and vertically. That, combined with optical zoom and generous lens shift, increases off-center placement flexibility without resorting to digital trickery. You can even drag the image Wiimote-style to the exact spot you want it using the included remote control. Handy!
The N3 Ultimate doesn’t live up to all of its marketing hype, however. It’s pitched as a 5800 ISO lumen projector that I found to be unwatchable in its brightest mode for reasons I will explain later. In modes you can actually use, you’re getting about 4,600 ISO lumens, which drops to 3,000 ISO lumens if you want more accurate colors — that’s noticeably brighter than Anker’s Nebula X1 flagship 4K portable running in comparable modes.
Even though the N3 Ultimate misses the advertised ceiling, its class-leading brightness and impressive picture could make this a television replacement for some.
$2399
The Good
- Unbeatable physical placement options that preserve image quality
- Incredibly bright, daylight-ready output
- Excellent out-of-the-box color reproduction
- Very good sound for a portable
- Snappy menu navigation and native Netflix support
The Bad
- Horribly green and loud at max brightness
- Automatic eye protection is wonky and slow to react
- Clumsy menus required to swap into Bluetooth speaker mode
- It’s portable, so where’s the handle?
The first spec I look at on portable projectors is the lumen rating. If the number is listed as anything other than ANSI or ISO, I just assume they are lying. JMGO isn’t exactly lying with its 5800 ISO lumen spec, but it’s not being completely transparent, either.
The N3 Ultimate only comes close to hitting that incredibly bright mark (I measured closer to 5,200 ISO lumens) when running in Dynamic mode, which skews the colors horribly green and causes the cooling fans to roar. The colors produced by this triple-laser RGB DLP projector are most accurate in Movie mode, but at almost half the advertised brightness.
Display Mode |
Calculated ISO Lumens |
|---|---|
| Movie | 3,066 |
| Office | 4,209 |
| Vivid | 4,624 |
| Dynamic | 5,216 |
Out of the box, I found the colors and tones produced by the N3 Ultimate’s factory tuning to be more true to life than many projectors in this class. Typically, I’d select Vivid during the day and then switch to Movie mode in darkened rooms. Sometimes I’d forget because the differences weren’t always obvious. The projector’s brightness allows its Dolby Vision support to meaningfully improve picture quality in both dark and not-so-dark rooms.
I tested the N3 Ultimate for an unhealthy number of hours on displays as large as 110 inches and as small as 32 inches; on painted walls, a glossy tabletop, a matte-white screen that increased the intensity, and a gray Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screen that boosted the contrast. It adapted admirably to each scenario with little intervention.
Typically the projector ran whisper quiet — I had to strain to hear it. In warmer rooms and with adaptive brightness turned on, I could hear the fans kick up a notch to about 30dB from their usual 26dB, at a distance of one meter. At max brightness, the fans peaked at a very distracting 50dB.
Optimizing image placement is a little tricky at first due to all the menu options and descriptions that aren’t exactly consumer friendly. Fortunately, there’s an optimization button right on the remote that removes the guesswork. Hold it down and you can drag the projected image around the room to center it wherever you want. Double-click the button and you’re presented with four menus that guide you through image-tuning options for Lossless Lens Shift, Gimbal Motion, Zoom, and Rotate. It’s very well done and makes the projector fast and easy to set up at new locations.
The sound is decent for a portable all-in-one of this size. It’s essentially an Anker Nebula X1 turned on its side, but lacking the optional satellite speakers that make Anker’s portable projector unbeatable for sound. Without those satellites, however, the Anker and JMGO sound roughly the same. The N3 Ultimate produced clear, detailed, room-filling sound with a respectable amount of bass. So, it’s a shame that JMGO doesn’t make it easy to quickly switch the projector into Bluetooth speaker mode from the shutdown screen like many portables — instead, you have to clumsily enable it through the settings menu.
The N3 Ultimate runs Netflix out of the box and menu navigation is snappy — two things you can’t take for granted with portable Google TV projectors. The one thing missing is an integrated handle, which makes this a two-handed portable. Fortunately, JMGO does ship the N3 Ultimate inside a reusable carrying case that came in handy when transporting it by car.
1/18
I also found the projector’s automatic eye protection feature to be wonky. Even at the default sensitivity, it can be triggered for no reason. Worse, it’s slow to respond when eyeballs are actually at risk from the laser optics. And besides an on / off button, the N3 Ultimate lacks on-device controls — don’t lose the remote!
“Ultimate” is a dangerously high bar to set when naming your projector, but JMGO gets close to the mark. If audio quality is your absolute highest priority, Anker’s bulkier Nebula X1 speaker bundle remains a tempting alternative — though it will cost you significantly more cash. But if you are looking for class-leading brightness and unmatched physical placement flexibility from a 4K all-in-one projector, the JMGO N3 Ultimate at $2,399 is the way to go.
Listed Specs: JMGO N3 Ultimate
Display & Picture Quality
- Light Source: MALC 5.0 Pure Triple Laser / RGB Laser
- Resolution: 4K UHD
- Brightness: 5800 ISO Lumens
- Contrast Ratio: 20000:1
- Color Gamut: 110% BT.2020
- Color Accuracy: ΔE ≈ 0.7
- HDR Formats: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- Image Size: 40 to 300 inches
- Display Technology: DLP
Optical & Placement System
- Throw Ratio: 0.88–1.7:1
- 3-in-1 Projection: Combines Optical Zoom, Lens Shift, and an AI Gimbal base
- Projection Types: Front, Rear, Front Ceiling, Rear Ceiling
Smart Software & AI Features
- Operating System: Google TV with native Netflix integration
- Smart Features: Auto Screen Fitting, Auto Keystone, Auto Focus, Adaptive Brightness, and Wall Color Adaptation, Eye Protection
- Custom Memory: AI Spatial Memory System to remember preferred walls, zoom levels, and shortcuts
- Processor: MediaTek MT9679 chipset
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Storage: 64GB ROM
- Motion Tech: MEMC motion compensation
- Speakers: Dual 12.5W stereo speakers (25W total output)
- Sound Enhancement: Dolby Audio
- Refresh Rate: Up to 240Hz
- Input Lag: 1ms ultra-low latency
- Extra Features: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support and specialized game modes
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Wired Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1 (with one port supporting eARC) and 1x USB 3.0
- Dimensions: 308.3 x 229.85 x 274.13mm
- Weight: 6.95kg
- Power Consumption: up to 300W
Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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Technology
Fox News AI Newsletter: Sanders bill would seize 50% of stock in OpenAI, Anthropic for sovereign wealth fund
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Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– Bernie Sanders unveils plan to take 50% stake in AI companies for government wealth fund
– College grads expect to earn $80,000 a year, but the math isn’t mathing
– Jensen Huang says Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip will reinvent the PC
Sen. Bernie Sanders reacts to questions from a Fox News Digital reporter about Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s resurfaced Reddit posts while walking through the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
SOCIALIST SHARE-UP: Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is arguing that the federal government should establish a sovereign wealth fund that’s financed by taking possession of half of the stock in AI giants like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, among others.
PAPER CHASE: If you want to understand what’s broken about higher education in America, look no further than one statistic.
According to a recent survey, the average college student expects to earn $80,000 a year shortly after graduation. The reality? The average starting salary is closer to $56,000. That’s a 30% gap between expectation and reality before a graduate even receives their first paycheck.
THE AGENTIC ERA: Nvidia on Monday unveiled a new chip that will bring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities onto laptops and desktop computers.
The new AI chip, known as RTX Spark, was built as part of a collaboration between Nvidia and Microsoft to make personal computers that are built to power AI tools.
A student walks across the campus grounds at Harvard University. (Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images)
CRACKED IN DAYS: Apple devices have earned a reputation for being tough to break into. That comes from Apple’s tight control over the hardware, software and many of the protections standing between you and an attacker. However, a new claim from security startup Calif shows how quickly the cybersecurity world may be changing.
FINANCIAL DYNAMITE: Billionaire Jeff Bezos just detonated a financial hand grenade in the middle of America’s tax debate.
The Amazon founder recently suggested that the bottom half of American earners should pay zero federal income tax. Not lower taxes. Not a temporary rebate. Zero.
BIG BROTHER BOSS: The NewsGuild of New York has accused The New York Times of using artificial intelligence technology to monitor and surveil the performance of unionized tech workers in violation of their collective bargaining agreement.
The New York Times Building is shown in Midtown Manhattan. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
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Fellow Traveller, the publisher behind games like Titanium Court and 1000xResist, just wrapped up its Story-Rich Showcase, which featured a bunch of narrative-driven indie games. With more than 20 games on display, there was a lot to follow, but we’ve pulled together some of the most notable announcements below. You can also catch the full show on Fellow Traveller’s YouTube channel.
Ambrosia Sky is getting its second and final episode
Ambrosia Sky, a sci-fi game about death where you have to clean up alien fungi, will be getting its second act as a free update on August 6th. The game was originally planned to have three acts, but developer Soft Rains announced in March that it would be brought down to two. When Act Two launches, the game’s price will go up from $14.99 to $24.99.
The Citizen Sleeper games are coming to Nintendo Switch 2
The sci-fi RPGs Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector are getting Switch 2 versions on June 25th. If you already own them on the original Switch, you can play the Switch 2 versions at no extra charge. Developer Gareth Damian Martin also says they will be revealing their next game during Sunday’s PC Gaming Show.
Desktop Explorer, a spooky game about looking through an old computer, launches in July
This trailer for Desktop Explorer, a horror puzzle game where you click through a creepy version of an old, Windows-like operating system, might be the scariest way to use a computer. It’s launching on July 17th.
Demonschool is getting DLC and will launch on the Switch 2
The upcoming paid DLC for Demonschool, a tactical RPG from Necrosoft that channels Buffy and Persona, has a focus on “puzzle battles” where players work to clear out enemies using certain characters in one turn. Both the DLC and the Switch 2 version (which includes mouse support and an improved frame rate) will launch sometime this year.
The developers of a point-and-click thriller are making a fantasy game
Powerhoof, the studio behind last year’s retro-styled mystery game The Drifter, is now working on The Telwynium, a “fantasy adventure epic.” “Book One” of the game is now available on Steam, though you can also grab it from Itch.io if you prefer.
The Mermaid Mask, a new detective game, is launching in July
SFB Games, the studio that made games like Tangle Tower and Crow Country, is releasing its next game, The Mermaid Mask, on July 16th. It’s a locked-door mystery that’s fully voice-acted and features hand-drawn animations — looks like a great story to settle into this summer.
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