# B2B Series: The Story of Broadcom

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2023-05-08
- Length: 34m
- Episode: 18
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-05-08-b2b-series-the-story-of-broadcom
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/05792b8c

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-05-08-b2b-series-the-story-of-broadcom#t=18) HP's Semiconductor Division and the Birth of Avago

## Topics

- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Broadcom (company)
- Avago (company)
- HP (company)
- Qualcomm (company)
- NXP (company)
- Computer Associates (company)
- VMware (company)
- KKR (company)
- Silver Lake (company)
- Hock Tan (other)
- Henry Samwelli (other)
- Henry Nichols (other)
- Paul Jacobs (other)
- Tomahawk (product)
- F bar filters (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Consolidate All The Things - Zonked Zelotic Zaitech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-06-12-consolidate-all-the-things-zonked-zelotic-zaitech) (The Amp Hour)
- [Opto Computing R&D | Broadcom Did What, Now? | Testing Autonomous Vehicles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-08-16-opto-computing-r-d-broadcom-did-what-now-testing-autonomous-vehicles) (EE Times Current)
- [Mergers and Acquiescence](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-08-05-mergers-and-acquiescence) (The Amp Hour)
- [Intel, EPA & Brown Field - Google's Ground Gurgitation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-26-intel-epa-brown-field-googles-ground-gurgitation) (The Amp Hour)
- [Be Tidy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-10-02-be-tidy) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-05-08-b2b-series-the-story-of-broadcom. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Circuit.