Broadcom Inc.
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | HP Associates (1961–1999)
Agilent Semiconductor Products Group (1999–2005) Avago Technologies (2005–2016) Broadcom Limited (2016–2018) |
| Legal structure | Public |
| Industry | Semiconductor Computer Software |
| Official website | https://www.broadcom.com/ |
Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational designer, developer, manufacturer, and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wireless, storage, and industrial markets.
The company that would later become Broadcom Inc. was established in 1961 as HP Associates, a semiconductor products division of Hewlett-Packard.
Consumer-impact summary
Numerous anti-customer/anti-competitive practices
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Broadcom Inc. category.
Anti-competitive practices investigations
In January 2018, it was reported that the FTC had been investigating Broadcom for several months for engaging in anti-competitive tactics while negotiating with customers.[1] In 2021, Broadcom agreed to settle the antitrust complaint, in which the U.S. Federal Trade Commission claimed that the company abused its monopoly power using restrictive contract terms and threats of retaliation against customers the company deemed "disloyal."[2]
In October 2019, Broadcom was ordered by the European Commission to stop allegedly anticompetitive practices.[3] In 2021, Broadcom agreed to settle the antitrust complaint which claimed it had abused its monopoly power through restrictive contract terms and threats of retaliation against non-compliant customers.[2] Such contract terms are alleged to stifle innovation and harm competition in the global supply market.[4] European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that Broadcom's contract terms with six main customers would "create serious and irreversible harm to competition" if no action were taken.[3] The company agreed to a commitment to suspend agreements containing exclusivity or quasi-exclusivity arrangements and a commitment not to enter into such agreements for seven years.[5]
Aquisition of VMWare, ending of perpetual licenses and Cease and Desist letters/notifications to customers
See also
References
- ↑ Cimilluca, Dana (17 Jan 2018). "FTC Investigates Broadcom Over Negotiations With Customers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 Aug 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Scarcella, Mike (31 Aug 2021). "Broadcom hires Baker Donelson team for antitrust, tech lobbying". Reuters. Retrieved 27 Aug 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michaels, Daniel (16 Oct 2019). "Broadcom Ordered by EU to Halt Allegedly Anticompetitive Practices". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 Aug 2025.
- ↑ Presse, AFP - Agence France (12 Jul 2023). "EU Clears US Chipmaker Broadcom's $61 Bn VMware Takeover". Barrons.
- ↑ Lomas, Natasha (7 Oct 2020). "European antitrust regulators settle with Broadcom a year after 'interim measures' flex". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 Aug 2025.