What Molex makes for data centers
private · HQ Lisle, United States · molex.com
Molex, a Koch Industries subsidiary, supplies data-center interconnect: optical transceivers and optical engines, DAC/ACC/AEC copper cables, board-level connectors and sockets, and OSFP/QSFP cages. In 2026 it acquired Teramount to add detachable fiber-to-chip coupling for co-packaged optics.
Parts, by layer
Layer 3 — Networking & interconnect
| Part | Role | Confidence | Competitors | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optical transceivers | manufacturer | inferred | Accelink, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom, Cisco, Coherent, Eoptolink | Koch |
| Copper: DAC / ACC / AEC cables | manufacturer | inferred | Amphenol, Bizlink, Credo, Foxconn Interconnect, Luxshare, TE Connectivity |
Layer 4 — Servers, racks & integration
| Part | Role | Confidence | Competitors | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board-level connectors & sockets | manufacturer | inferred | Aces, Amphenol, Bizlink, Foxconn Interconnect, Hirose, JAE | |
| OSFP/QSFP cages | manufacturer | inferred | Amphenol, TE Connectivity |
Where Molex sits in the stack
Molex's placements in this catalog cover 4 parts, from layer 3 (networking & interconnect) to layer 4 (servers, racks & integration). None of them currently carries a sourced supply constraint tag. Across these parts it overlaps with other companies most often on the lines below.
What these parts are
- Optical transceivers — Pluggable optical modules that convert electrical signals to light for transmission over fiber between switches and servers, sold at 400G, 800G, and 1.6T speeds.
- Copper: DAC / ACC / AEC cables — High-speed copper cable assemblies — DAC, ACC, and AEC types — that link GPUs, NICs, and switches over short distances as a lower-cost alternative to optical transceivers.
- Board-level connectors & sockets — The physical connectors — CPU and GPU sockets, board-to-board and cable connectors, and I/O cages — that link chips, trays and cables together on and between boards.
- OSFP/QSFP cages — The metal cages mounted on switch and NIC boards that mechanically receive and shield pluggable OSFP or QSFP optical and copper transceiver modules.
Closest peers in this catalog
Seen in real machines
Molex is named in 2 of the rack teardowns and supercomputer breakdowns on this site. Each line below is a piece of that machine.
- Nvidia GB300 NVL72 · rack teardown
- Sockets and board connectors
- Fugaku · supercomputer
- Cabled backplane and board-level connectors (backbone between the system's circuit boards; connectors on each CPU) (supplied cabled backplane and 30 standard plus 8 specialty components)
Questions about Molex
- What does Molex make for AI data centers?
- This catalog places Molex on 4 parts: Optical transceivers (manufacturer), Copper: DAC / ACC / AEC cables (manufacturer), Board-level connectors & sockets (manufacturer) and OSFP/QSFP cages (manufacturer).
- Is Molex publicly traded?
- No listing is on file for Molex in this catalog; it is recorded as private.
- Where is Molex based?
- Lisle, United States, per the company record in this catalog.
- Who else makes optical transceivers for AI data centers?
- Accelink, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom, Cisco, Coherent and Eoptolink are also placed on Optical transceivers in this catalog.
- How well sourced are these placements?
- Every part→company placement carries a confidence tag. For Molex the mix is 4 inferred. "disclosed" means the company or a filing says so; "reported" comes from trade press or a reference-design list; "inferred" is a lead from the taxonomy with no citation yet. Treat reported and inferred as leads, not facts.
Answers are generated from this catalog's own rows — see sources & method.
Verification: enriched, last verified 2026-08-27. Sources: www.molex.com · www.molex.com.· Markdown · JSON