SENKO’s newly developed Blind-Mate Connectivity Powers SoftBank’s ​R​obot Friendly​​​​ ​​Server Rack for Next-Generation Data Centers

Yokkaichi, Mie – [December 1st] – Senko Advance Co., Ltd. is proud to announce that its advanced blind-mate optical connector technology has been selected by SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) for early-stage integration in the development of a groundbreaking ​​robot-friendly​​​​ ​​server rack designed to accelerate the automation of next-generation data centers.

The new cable-free rack eliminates the need for traditional power, cooling, and communication cabling, enabling robots to install, maintain, and inspect servers with precision and efficiency. By simply pushing servers into place without manual cable handling, robotic systems can streamline workflows, improve scalability, and reduce human error.

Empowering a Vision for Fully Automated Data Centers

SENKO’s high-performance blind-mate optical connectors play a pivotal role in this innovation by providing fast, stable, and reliable optical communication within the cable-free architecture. Together with bus bar power delivery and blind-mate cooling interfaces, SENKO’s technology helps establish a robust foundation for fully automated data centers. ​​ ​

O​ robot friendly​ ​server​ rack conforms to the latest Open Compute Project (OCP) ORV3 specifications, accommodates industry-standard 19-inch servers, and supports liquid cooling for high-performance computing environments. The system will be deployed at the Hokkaido Tomakomai AI Data Center, scheduled to open in fiscal year 2026, as part of SoftBank’s strategy to build distributed AI data centers and next-generation social infrastructure.

“We are honored to partner with SoftBank in this pioneering initiative that brings the vision of fully automated, AI-ready data centers closer to reality,” said Jim Hasegawa, Managing Executive Officer and President of the Optical Communications Division at SENKO. “SENKO’s blind-mate optical connectors are engineered to deliver the reliability and performance required for cable-free, robotic operations, underscoring our commitment to driving innovation in data center connectivity.”

This collaboration reflects SENKO’s leadership in high-performance optical interconnects and its role in enabling smarter, more sustainable infrastructure for the digital age.

SENKO remains committed to advancing the field of optical communications through the development of high-performance, practical solutions that meet the evolving needs of our partners and the industry.

Sobre a SENKO Advanced Components

A SENKO Advanced Components, Inc. é uma subsidiária integral da SENKO Advance Co., Ltd. com sede em Yokkaichi, Japão. Com 16 localidades em todo o mundo e amplas capacidades de projeto e fabricação, a SENKO é reconhecida como líder global em interconexões de fibra óptica passiva e componentes ópticos. A SENKO implantou mais de 1 bilhão de conectores, detém mais de 500 patentes e continua a ser pioneira em soluções de conectividade de próxima geração para os mercados de Data Center, Telecomunicações e Sem Fio.

Para acelerar a inovação em aplicações emergentes, como Co-Packaged Optics, tecnologias de alinhamento óptico e interconexões habilitadas para IA, a SENKO estabeleceu o Emerging Technologies Group (ETG), uma divisão especializada focada no desenvolvimento de soluções fotônicas avançadas que abordam o futuro da rede de alto desempenho.

Para obter mais informações, visite https://www.senko.com.

About Softbank​​ Corp​

​​​​Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its “Beyond Carrier” growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin​​ and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions​​, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language, SoftBank is integrating AI with radio access networks (AI-RAN) with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure. To learn more, please visit https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/​​​​ ​​​ ​​

Para obter mais informações, visite www.softbank.jp

To view the Softbank Press release, https://www.softbank.jp/corp/news/press/sbkk/2025/20250908_01/