1221 Mw Molex Keyssa Acquisition Promo 61b0f6ba50a2b

Molex Acquires Keyssa’s Wireless Connector Technology

Dec. 8, 2021

The acquisition supports growing demand for high-speed, board-to-board contactless connectivity in high-volume mobile and consumer devices.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

With mobile and consumer products becoming ever-smaller and thinner, OEMs feel greater pressure to simplify communications within the device itself while enhancing data-transfer speeds. To that end, Molex has acquired core technology and intellectual property (IP) from Keyssa Inc., a pioneer in high-speed contactless connectors. Keyssa’s wireless chip-to-chip technology, which comes to Molex with over 350 filed patent applications, will complement the company’s push to expand and diversify its micro-connector portfolio with highly flexible, cable-free connectors for near-field, device-to-device applications.

In addition to eliminating the need for physical cables or connectors, the technology acquired by Molex also alleviates concerns over pairing and reliability. Design for manufacturability is also enhanced with fully encased, dust- and water-proof packaging with wide alignment tolerances.

The Keyssa technology operates at data rates up to 6 Gb/s on the 60-GHz band with no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth interference. The tiny, low-power, low-latency, solid-state contactless connectors can solve critical data-transmission needs with minimal overhead. Molex plans to advance these current capabilities by supporting exponentially higher data rates and full-duplex communications. Additionally, Molex will leverage its signal-integrity expertise and mmWave antenna capabilities to speed the commercialization of new contactless connectors while complementing its existing portfolio of products.

Molex also will take advantage of the Virtual Pipe I/O (VPIO) technology Keyssa developed to resolve protocol inefficiencies. By aggregating low- and high-speed protocols for simultaneous transmission over one or more links, VPIO can help compensate for real-time events that impact link performance integrity. Used in combination, VPIO and contactless connectors can create extensible and efficient I/O that is free from the limitations of mechanical connectors while being capable of adapting and scaling as dictated by application demands.

Molex is ramping a team of more than 25 engineers in the U.S. and India to develop next-generation products based on this technology. Initially, the focus will be on the unique connectivity needs of high-volume mobile applications where contactless connectors offer potential benefits in design for manufacturing, serviceability, reliability, signal aggregation and security. Over time, Molex will apply this technology to address emerging application areas, encompassing smart factories, automotive advanced safety, medical robotics, and more.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.