The embodiments described herein relate to multi-core optical fiber interconnects which include at least two multi-core optical fibers. The multi-core optical fibers are connected such that the core elements of the first multi-core optical fiber are optically coupled to the core elements of the second multi-core optical fiber thereby forming an array of interconnect core elements extending through the optical fiber interconnect. The multi-core optical fibers are constructed such that cross-talk between adjacent core elements in each multi-core optical fiber is minimized. The multi-core optical fibers are also constructed such that time-delays between the interconnect core elements in the array of interconnect core elements are also minimized.