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. ​​ ​

The​ 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.

About SENKO Advanced Components

SENKO Advanced Components, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SENKO Advance Co., Ltd., headquartered in Yokkaichi, Japan. With 16 locations worldwide and extensive design and manufacturing capabilities, SENKO is recognized as a global leader in passive fiber optic interconnects and optical components. SENKO has deployed over 1 billion connectors, holds more than 500 patents, and continues to pioneer next-generation connectivity solutions for the Data Center, Telco, and Wireless markets.

To accelerate innovation in emerging applications such as Co-Packaged Optics, optical alignment technologies, and AI-enabling interconnects, SENKO has established the Emerging Technologies Group (ETG), a specialized division focused on developing advanced photonic solutions that address the future of high-performance networking.

For more information, visit 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/​​​​ ​​​ ​​

For more information, visit www.softbank.jp

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