Startup SPAN teams with Nvidia to put data center nodes in your backyard

Even though many communities are in open revolt against massive data centers needed to power artificial intelligence, a startup is betting that homeowners will welcome miniature data centers in their backyards. The startup, an intelligent power management company called SPAN , has partnered with Nvidia and homebuilder PulteGroup to make use of spare electrical transmission capacity already available in many neighborhoods—something SPAN says its smart panels can detect. Rather than building massive new data centers with their own ZIP code, SPAN is proposing a network of small units, called XFRA nodes, installed outside of homes or in small commercial locations. These nodes are no bigger than an HVAC or power generator found outside of any home, according to SPAN. A SPAN representative told CNBC that it can install 8,000 XFRA units about six times faster and at five times lower cost than the construction of a typical centralized 100-megawatt data center of the same size. “One big reason