What Happened to Broadcom Inc.?

Broadcom Inc.'s modern identity is largely shaped by a series of aggressive acquisitions orchestrated by CEO Hock Tan, who has been at the helm since 2006. The company's origins trace back to the original Broadcom Corporation, founded in 1991, which was a fabless semiconductor company. A pivotal moment occurred in 2016 when Singapore-based Avago Technologies acquired Broadcom Corporation for $37 billion and subsequently adopted the more recognized Broadcom name, retaining the AVGO ticker symbol.

Under Tan's leadership, Broadcom embarked on a strategy to acquire 'franchise' businesses—market-leading technologies characterized by high barriers to entry and stable cash flows. This strategic pivot aimed to diversify Broadcom beyond its traditional hardware focus into the lucrative, subscription-based enterprise software market. Key acquisitions included CA Technologies for $18.9 billion in 2018, followed by Symantec's enterprise security business for $10.7 billion in 2019, significantly bolstering its software capabilities.

The most ambitious acquisition to date was the $61 billion (later valued at $69 billion including debt) purchase of cloud software company VMware, which closed in November 2023. This deal was a major turning point, aiming to shift Broadcom's revenue mix significantly towards software. While it expanded Broadcom's footprint in private cloud and enterprise software, the acquisition has been met with considerable customer dissatisfaction due to radical changes in VMware's licensing models, product bundling, and price increases, leading many enterprises to actively seek alternatives.

As of August 2026, Broadcom is a dominant force in both semiconductor solutions and infrastructure software. The company has become a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, with its custom AI accelerators, networking chips, and data-center connectivity products driving record revenue growth. Broadcom reported record financial results for Q1 and Q2 fiscal year 2026, with AI semiconductor revenue accelerating significantly. Its partnerships with hyperscalers like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta Platforms for custom AI chip development provide substantial long-term revenue visibility, with expectations for AI semiconductor revenues to exceed $100 billion in fiscal 2027.

Despite carrying substantial debt from its acquisitions, Broadcom's strong cash flow and strategic positioning in critical AI infrastructure components have contributed to its market capitalization nearing $2 trillion by August 2026. The company continues to innovate, unveiling LLM-optimized intelligence processors and expanding its focus on private cloud solutions for production AI inference, reflecting its ongoing adaptation to evolving technological landscapes.