Hardware Podcasts

B2B Series: The Story of Broadcom

The Circuit · 8 May 2023 · 34m · Episode 18

What this episode covers

Host Jay Goldberg details the history of Broadcom, tracing its origins from HP's semiconductor division to its acquisition by private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake in 2005, where it was renamed Avago. He explains how CEO Hock Tan built a playbook of acquiring undervalued companies, stripping costs, and consolidating the semiconductor industry, culminating in the 2015 merger with Broadcom and the failed hostile bid for Qualcomm. Goldberg analyzes how this private-equity-style model shifted Broadcom from a chip maker to a software giant through acquisitions like Computer Associates and VMware, while noting the risks of cutting R&D too deeply.

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Broadcom, Avago, HP, Qualcomm, NXP, Computer Associates, VMware, KKR, Silver Lake
Products
Tomahawk, F bar filters
Also
Hock Tan, Henry Samwelli, Henry Nichols, Paul Jacobs

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