Mitsubishi Electric is struggling to meet sustained global demand for optical components used in data centers powering artificial intelligence.
The Tokyo-based maker of factory automation is a key supplier of optic fiber communication devices that link servers to one another. AI’s appetite for high-speed and high-volume calculations is propelling sales of Mitsubishi Electric’s devices, which boast low power consumption and heat emission, according to Masayoshi Takemi, an executive officer in charge of the company’s semiconductor and devices business.
Next month, the company is ramping up production capacity for optical devices to a level 50% above last year’s. "But that won’t be enough to meet the strong level of inquiries we’re getting,” Takemi said in an interview. "We may need double what we’ll have in September.”