Broadcom

Broadcom is a semiconductor and infrastructure software company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker AVGO, headquartered in San Jose, California. The company is the product of a long series of mergers: Avago Technologies acquired the original Broadcom Corporation in 2016 for approximately $37 billion and adopted the Broadcom name. In 2023, Broadcom completed the acquisition of VMware for approximately $61 billion, one of the largest transactions in the history of the IT industry.

Broadcom operates across two primary segments: semiconductor solutions, and infrastructure software. The semiconductor segment covers chips for data-center networking, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RF components for smartphones, and storage controllers. The infrastructure software segment includes VMware (virtualization and private cloud), Symantec Enterprise (enterprise cybersecurity), and CA Technologies (IT management and software development tooling). Following the VMware acquisition, Broadcom restructured VMware's commercial model around enterprise subscriptions.

On the semiconductor side, notable product lines include custom ASICs for data-center networking (used by hyperscalers including Apple and Google), BCM-series chips for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and Emulex-branded storage adapters. Following the 2023 VMware close, the flagship software products include VMware vSphere, VMware NSX, and VMware Tanzu. Symantec Enterprise Cloud, acquired from Symantec in 2019 for approximately $10.7 billion, provides enterprise endpoint and web security.

In data-center networking ASICs, Broadcom competes with Marvell and Intel. In server virtualization, VMware (under Broadcom) competes with Microsoft Hyper-V and Red Hat. After closing the VMware acquisition, Broadcom announced a shift from perpetual licensing to a subscription model, a move that generated significant public criticism from customers and channel partners.

Broadcom maintains R&D operations in Israel, primarily in networking and semiconductor engineering. Parts of this presence trace back to centers inherited through prior acquisitions. Following the VMware acquisition, VMware Israel's operations in Tel Aviv were folded under the Broadcom umbrella. The company recruits in Israel primarily for software engineering, ASIC design, and networking research roles.