By Julie Taylor
Publication Date: 2026-05-06 15:37:00
With many communities resisting the massive data centers needed to power artificial intelligence, a California startup is betting that homeowners will embrace miniature versions right in their backyards.
The startup, Span, calls the concept “fractional data centers” and has partnered with AI chipmaker Nvidia to test the units in a handful of communities under construction by major homebuilder PulteGroup.
The idea is to make use of extra electricity already available in many neighborhoods—something Span says its smart panels can detect.
Rather than building massive new data centers, the company is proposing a network of small units, which it calls XFRA nodes, installed at homes across the country. Together, they could deliver the same computing power as a traditional warehouse-style facility, potentially easing the need for large-scale developments in any one community.
For big tech and AI companies, tapping into that network wouldn’t look much different than using a standard data center—they’d simply draw on the shared system.
The equipment itself is designed to blend in with the home’s exterior, with compact white XFRA boxes installed alongside things like air conditioning units and electrical panels.
“They are about the size of an HVAC condenser installed just outside of single-family homes today,” a spokesperson for Span tells Realtor.com®.
Span says this approach could be built out far more quickly—and at a…
