Acquisition immediately expands Molex product portfolio by adding silicon photonics to its high speed optical and electrical I/O solutions

Molex Incorporated has completed the acquisition of Luxtera’s Active Optical Cable (AOC) business. Luxtera, the worldwide leader in Silicon CMOS Photonics, will transfer all aspects of its existing and future AOC business to Molex including current QSFP+ (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable) 40Gbps Ethernet and InfiniBand products and customers. The acquisition immediately adds QSFP active optical cables to Molex’s portfolio of active optical connectivity products. The acquisition includes an exclusive agreement for Luxtera to develop and supply advanced chip-sets for future Molex products that are based on Luxtera’s silicon photonics technology, including next generation 14Gbps and four channel 25Gbps products for the 100Gbps Ethernet and InfiniBand markets. The companies will work together on future product planning to provide customers with leading edge interconnect solutions at 10Gbps, 14Gbps, 25Gbps, and faster data rates.

According to Doug Busch, Vice President and General Manager of Molex’s Global Fiber Optic Products Group, this is a strategic acquisition that will help Molex boost its share of the global fiber optic assemblies market.

“The acquisition of Luxtera’s AOC business immediately adds QSFP+ 40Gbps products to our existing portfolio and further contributes to our tradition of innovation for our customers, allowing them to deliver high performance products,” Busch said. “We are very excited to be partnering with Luxtera on future AOC development because the combination of our interconnect expertise with Luxtera’s long reach, low power and low bit error rate optical solutions will enable us to offer the highest level of photonics integration and performance available.”

Greg Young, CEO, Luxtera said the new partnership aligns perfectly with the strategic direction and long term goals of both companies.

“This agreement is a milestone validating the growing commercial significance of Silicon Photonics,” said Young. “Luxtera will continue to accelerate its growth by focusing on our core Silicon Photonics technology platform, while at the same time expanding the reach of our technology to global markets and customers. Partnering with Molex will help us to bring the benefits of Silicon Photonics to customers worldwide.”