Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational designer, developer, and global supplier of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. The company's offerings serve data center, networking, software, broadband, wireless, storage, and industrial markets. As of 2026, Broadcom is one of the largest companies globally, with a market capitalization exceeding $2 trillion in April 2026, the sixth company in history to reach that milestone. Its product portfolio includes custom AI accelerators and networking solutions for data centers and cloud providers, alongside enterprise software from its acquisitions of CA Technologies and VMware.
Broadcom's revenue is split between its semiconductor-based products and its infrastructure software offerings. As of 2025, approximately 58% of revenue came from semiconductor products and 42% from infrastructure software. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and led by president and CEO Tan Hock Eng. The modern entity traces its roots to a 1961 Hewlett-Packard division, later spun off as Agilent Technologies, then acquired by private equity firms to form Avago Technologies, which in turn acquired Broadcom Corporation in 2016 and adopted the Broadcom name.
History
Origin in Hewlett-Packard
The company that would later become Broadcom Inc. was established in 1961 as HP Associates, a semiconductor products division of Hewlett-Packard. This division developed early integrated circuits and optoelectronic components. In 1999, HP Associates was separated from Hewlett-Packard as part of the Agilent Technologies spinoff, creating an independent semiconductor business.
Formation of Avago Technologies
In 2005, private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake Partners acquired the Semiconductor Products Group of Agilent Technologies for $2.6 billion, forming Avago Technologies. The new company focused on analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. Avago sold its I/O solutions unit to PMC-Sierra for $42.5 million in October 2005. In August 2008, the company filed for an initial public offering of $400 million. That October, it acquired Infineon Technologies' Munich-based bulk acoustic wave business for €21.5 million. On 6 August 2009, Avago Technologies went public on NASDAQ with the ticker symbol AVGO.
Avago expanded through strategic acquisitions in the early 2010s. In April 2013, it agreed to acquire CyOptics, an optical chip and component supplier, for $400 million, aiming to expand its fiber optics product portfolio. In October 2013, Avago invested $5 million in Amantys, a power electronics technology provider. In December 2013, Avago announced an agreement to acquire LSI Corporation for $6.6 billion, moving the company away from specialized products toward mainstream markets, particularly storage chips for data centers. The company sold LSI's SSD controller business to Seagate Technology in May 2014. In August 2014, Avago was the ninth-largest semiconductor company. It also agreed to sell LSI's Axxia Networking business to Intel for $650 million and to buy PLX Technology, an integrated circuits designer, for $309 million. In February 2015, Avago reached an agreement to acquire Emulex Corporation for $8 per share in cash.
Acquisition of and change of name to Broadcom Limited
On 28 May 2015, Avago announced it would buy Broadcom Corporation for $37 billion ($17 billion cash and $20 billion in shares). Avago was the nominal survivor, but the combined company would be named Broadcom Ltd. The merged entity had annual revenue of $15 billion and a market value of $77 billion. Broadcom Corp. strengthened Avago's patent position significantly in sectors such as mobile, the data center, and the Internet of Things, making the company the ninth-largest holder of patents among top semiconductor vendors, according to an analysis by technology consulting firm LexInnova. In May 2016, Cypress Semiconductor acquired Broadcom Corporation's full portfolio of IoT products for $550 million, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee connectivity technologies, as well as the WICED platform and SDK for developers.
Foreign investment reviews and change of name to Broadcom Inc.
In 2016, Broadcom proposed merging with Brocade Communications Systems for $5.5 billion in cash. The deal was delayed for review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). On 2 November 2017, Broadcom announced it would relocate its legal address from Singapore to Delaware, avoiding the review. This action was linked to the parent company being renamed from Broadcom Limited to Broadcom Inc. The pre-2016-merger Broadcom Corporation remains a wholly owned subsidiary of the renamed parent.
In mid-November 2017, Broadcom proposed to purchase Qualcomm for $130 billion, which was rebuffed by Qualcomm's board. The proposed hostile takeover, later revised to $117 billion, was blocked by the Trump administration through an executive order citing national security concerns. CFIUS expressed concerns that Broadcom, then headquartered in Singapore, was too close to China and chipmaker Huawei. CFIUS stated that "a shift to Chinese dominance in 5G would have substantial negative national security consequences for the United States," and that "while the United States remains dominant in the standards-setting space currently, China would likely compete robustly to fill any void left by Qualcomm as a result of this hostile takeover." Critics argued the decision was motivated by competitiveness more than security. Broadcom withdrew its takeover bid two days after the executive order. Observers noted that President Trump's decision was as consistent with balance of trade objectives as with security concerns.
Move into software
The failure of the Qualcomm bid led Broadcom and its CEO to look at acquiring infrastructure software as an alternative way of growing in size. On 11 July 2018, news sources reported that Broadcom and CA Technologies agreed on terms for an $18.9 billion acquisition. CA Technologies, formerly known as Computer Associates, was a major enterprise software vendor. This acquisition marked Broadcom's first significant move into software.
In May 2022, Broadcom announced an agreement to acquire VMware in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $69 billion. The acquisition closed on November 22, 2023, making Broadcom a major player in cloud infrastructure and virtualization software. This deal significantly expanded Broadcom's software portfolio, complementing its semiconductor business with VMware's cloud and data center software offerings.
Products and markets
Broadcom's semiconductor products serve multiple markets, including data center networking, broadband, wireless, storage, and industrial applications. The company is a leading supplier of custom AI accelerators and networking chips for data centers and cloud providers. These products support the growing demand for AI workloads, including machine learning and deep learning models. Broadcom's custom silicon designs are used by major cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, for their internal AI infrastructure.
In the networking space, Broadcom produces high-speed Ethernet switches and routing chips that form the backbone of modern data centers. Its Tomahawk and Jericho families of switch ASICs are widely deployed in hyperscale data centers. The company also supplies Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity chips for mobile devices, though it sold its IoT connectivity portfolio to Cypress in 2016.
Software business
Broadcom's infrastructure software division includes products from its CA Technologies and VMware acquisitions. CA Technologies provides mainframe software, enterprise management tools, and security solutions. VMware offers virtualization and cloud management software, including vSphere, NSX, and vSAN. The company also develops security software and DevOps tools. As of 2025, infrastructure software accounted for 42% of Broadcom's revenue.
Corporate affairs
Broadcom is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company's CEO, Tan Hock Eng, has led the company since its Avago days. Broadcom's board of directors includes prominent technology executives. The company operates globally with design centers in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and manufacturing is outsourced to foundries like TSMC.
Regulatory issues
In October 2019, the European Union issued an interim antitrust order against Broadcom concerning anticompetitive business practices that allegedly violated European Union competition law. The order required Broadcom to stop certain exclusivity arrangements with customers. Broadcom later reached a settlement with the EU in 2020, agreeing to limit the use of exclusivity clauses in its chip supply agreements.
Market position
Broadcom became the 12th company to surpass a $1 trillion market cap in December 2024. In April 2026, it surpassed a $2 trillion market cap, becoming the sixth company in history to do so. The company's growth has been driven by strong demand for its custom AI accelerators and networking products, as well as its software acquisitions. Broadcom competes with other semiconductor and software companies, including AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA in various markets.