Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
A maker of fiber-optic networking components, Applied Optoelectronics builds the laser chips, transceivers, and light engines that carry data through internet data centers and cable TV networks. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Thompson Lin in a University of Houston lab, the company now makes its chips in Sugar Land, Texas, and sells cable operators its Quantum Bandwidth gear for next-generation DOCSIS 4.0 networks.