A nearly 1,600% stock increase has turned a struggling Chinese landscape architect into a multi-billionaire, highlighting intense investor appetite for companies supplying the AI industry's infrastructure.
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Chinese Landscaper’s AI Pivot Sparks 1,600% Stock Surge
A shrewd pivot into producing artificial intelligence hardware has catapulted the stock of Chinese landscaping firm Hui Lyu Ecological Technology Groups by almost 1,600 percent over two years, creating a $2.8 billion fortune for its co-founder Li Xiaoming and signaling a valuation boom for any company with a credible link to the AI supply chain.
The move gives AI component maker Tri-light, now majority-owned by Hui Lyu, the capital needed for a major factory expansion, founder Peng Kaisheng told the Securities Times, enabling it to better meet surging demand for AI-related hardware.
Hui Lyu invested 195 million yuan ($29 million) for a 30 percent stake in Tri-light in 2024, later increasing it to 51 percent. The firm now plans to acquire the remainder. Tri-light, which makes optical transceivers that speed up data transmission in AI data centers, will be able to produce 4.5 million units annually by late 2027 upon factory completion.
The rally has pushed Hui Lyu’s market capitalization to nearly 50 billion yuan, demonstrating the massive premium investors assign to AI-exposed firms, even as Hui Lyu’s core business shrinks and consolidated net profit falls. This trend is not isolated, suggesting a broader market scramble to fund the AI infrastructure build-out.
Before its AI pivot, Wuhan-based Hui Lyu was a struggling firm. Annual revenues fell from 775 million yuan in 2021 to 587 million yuan in 2024. While consolidated revenues for the first three months of 2026 rose 25.2 percent year-on-year to 386.6 million yuan after acquiring Tri-light, net profit actually fell by a quarter to 14.9 million yuan, which the company attributed to foreign exchange losses and the contracting landscape business.
A Broader Trend: The AI Infrastructure Gold Rush
This pattern of non-tech companies finding growth by servicing the AI boom extends beyond China. In the U.S., Target Hospitality Corp. (NASDAQ: TH), a provider of modular accommodations, has secured over $1.8 billion in contracts since February 2025 to build workforce communities for staff developing AI data centers. The company announced a new $750 million contract for an "AI Infrastructure Community," reinforcing how the capital-intensive build-out of AI is creating lucrative opportunities in adjacent sectors.
The global market for optical transceivers, the components made by Hui Lyu's subsidiary, is forecast to nearly double from $15.4 billion in 2026 to $29.3 billion in 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. This explosive growth provides a strong tailwind for companies like Hui Lyu that have successfully positioned themselves as suppliers for the AI industry's foundational layer.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Chinese Landscape Architect Becomes A Billionaire After AI Pivot Sends His Company's Shares Up Almost 1,600%[2] Target Hospitality Announces First Quarter 2026 Results Highlighting Sustained Momentum and Continued Execution on Strategic Transformation[3] Fund managers see selective IT opportunities despite AI risks[4] Cloudflare cuts 20% staff in AI-driven overhaul despite record revenue
