Brightray Eyes U.S. AI Data-Center Projects With Chinese-Made Modules

The U.S. AI data-center boom is drawing a prospective supplier from China. Brightray, which manages construction using facilities made by Chinese manufacturer PrefabDC, sees stronger demand in the U.S. than in China, a company executive told CNBC. Its pitch depends on speed: Brightray says building much of a facility in a factory can cut construction time by at least half.

The opportunity is substantial, though the market figures measure different things. Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence data cited by CNBC counted 5,427 AI data centers in the U.S. in 2025, compared with 449 in China. Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are estimated to spend a combined $765 billion on AI infrastructure this year. That estimate is broader than data-center construction alone.

Why Brightray is looking west

Brightray global vice president S.K. Lee told CNBC that China remains important to the company, but U.S. demand is stronger. PrefabDC is Brightray’s sole manufacturer; Brightray manages construction. The arrangement gives the Chinese maker a route to pursue U.S. projects through a Singapore-registered company, though no U.S. contract was identified in the account.

China is also planning more capacity at home: its government has outlined $295 billion in data-center investment over five years. That planned, multiyear figure should not be read as a direct comparison with the one-year estimate for four U.S. companies. George Washington University AI researcher Jeffrey Ding told CNBC that Chinese companies earn less from AI services and face less demand for them, limiting what they can spend on large facilities.

The construction bet

Prefabrication moves much of the building work into a controlled factory setting, away from weather and surprises at the construction site. U.S. builders already use prefabricated sections, but CNBC reported that those generally sit inside a building. Brightray says its modules can include the building’s exterior. That is the practical difference behind its proposed shortcut, not a claim that prefabrication itself is new to the U.S.

Industry analysts told CNBC that a U.S. data center takes about two to three years to build on average. Brightray says its approach with PrefabDC can halve construction time or better. That is a company claim, not a measured outcome for a U.S. project. For a prospective customer, the question is whether factory assembly would speed the whole project, rather than only the portion completed before equipment reaches the site.

An opening with a policy risk

Chinese equipment already has a place in U.S. data-center supply chains. Chinese companies supply transformers, batteries and fiber-optic cables, according to Wood Mackenzie supply-chain analyst Benjamin Boucher. He told CNBC that U.S. shortages and long waits for some electrical equipment can make Chinese suppliers attractive on delivery time. Brightray’s proposed facilities would extend that established supply relationship into a more complete building package.

The same reliance raises security and policy concerns. CNBC reported that U.S. officials worry about cybersecurity and dependence on China for critical infrastructure. The Trump administration is considering restrictions on new categories of Chinese data-center components; it has not adopted those proposed bans. Whether Brightray can turn its construction pitch into U.S. work may therefore depend as much on what equipment Washington permits as on how quickly PrefabDC can make it.