Broadcom is a semiconductor and infrastructure software company with two core businesses. On the semiconductor side, Broadcom designs custom AI accelerators (XPUs)—ASICs co-developed with hyperscale customers like Google and Meta to train and run large language models—as well as AI networking silicon, including Ethernet switches, routers, NICs, and optical components that connect large-scale AI clusters. Broadcom also sells wireless connectivity chips (primarily for a major North American smartphone OEM), broadband SoCs, and server and storage components, though these non-AI segments are mature and more cyclical. On the software side, Broadcom's acquisition of VMware transformed its software business around VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), a private cloud platform enterprises use to virtualize compute, networking, and storage on-premises. Broadcom also sells mainframe software (CA brand), cybersecurity software (Symantec, Carbon Black), and DevOps tools. Broadcom's AI semiconductor strategy centers on the thesis that hyperscalers building frontier models will increasingly prefer custom silicon over general-purpose GPUs, given the performance and efficiency advantages of co-optimized hardware. Broadcom currently has five confirmed XPU customers on multi-generational roadmaps. The VMware integration involved converting customers from perpetual vSphere licenses to multi-year VCF subscriptions, dramatically cutting costs, and upselling customers to the full VCF stack—pushing software segment operating margins to approximately 78%. Software carries roughly 93% gross margins versus roughly 68% for semiconductors, making segment mix a key profitability driver.