Broadcom is a diversified global semiconductor industry leader built on 50 years of innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence. Broadcom's broad product portfolio serves numerous applications in four major end markets: wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage, and industrial and other markets. Applications for Broadcom's products in these end markets include: data center networking, connected home, broadband access, telecommunications equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage, factory automation, alternative energy systems, and displays.

Broadcom Semiconductor's main products:

Broadcom's product portfolio targets four major end markets: wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial, among others, providing a variety of applications. Its diverse product portfolio includes: semiconductors for set-top boxes/CMTS, cable modems and PON/DSL, Ethernet NICs, filters and amplifiers, ASICs, wireless connectivity solutions, embedded processors, HDD/SSD controllers, Enterprise SAS/SATA/Fibre Channel connectivity, data center switches and routers, optical isolation/motion encoders/LEDs, and fiber optic solutions.

Wireless Embedded Solutions and RF Components: Broadcom offers a broad range of wireless solutions for mobile and wireless infrastructure applications such as smartphones, tablets, Internet gateway routers and enterprise access points.

Storage Adapters, Controllers and ICs: The industry's broadest range of high-reliability server storage products, providing connectivity, performance and protection for critical applications.

Broadband: CPE gateways, broadband network infrastructure and set-top boxes: Broadcom develops a wide range of digital subscriber line (DSL), passive optical network (xPON), cable modem and set-top box solutions.

Embedded processors and network processors: One of the largest processor portfolios in the industry, designed for VoIP, wireless infrastructure, IP network platforms, security appliances, storage and cloud computing applications.

Ethernet Connectivity Ethernet Connectivity, Switching and PHYs: Designed for today's enterprise, cloud and data center environments, Broadcom is a leading supplier of Ethernet network adapters, controllers, switches, PHYs and PHY transceivers.

PCIe Switches and Bridges: Market-leading ExpressFabric and PCIExpress switching solutions provide the critical high-performance connectivity required by today's data centers, servers and networking equipment.

Fiber optic modules and assemblies: A broad portfolio of high-density, high-speed fiber optic interconnects designed for wired networking applications, specialized lasers, detectors, transmitters, receivers, and modulators are available as packaging options or components for industrial applications .

LEDs and Displays: Avago Technologies, known for the performance, efficiency and reliability of light-emitting diodes, offers a broad product portfolio at very competitive prices worldwide.

Motion Control Encoders: Motion control optical and magnetic encoders, including incremental and absolute encoders, for motor feedback and positioning systems.

Optocouplers and Optoisolators: A broad range of isolation products offers unmatched performance, features and benefits in the industrial, computing, consumer, communications, medical, automotive, military and aerospace industries.

Optical Sensors: Broadcom proximity sensors are used to detect objects or motion in a variety of applications including industrial, mobile, electronic applications and retail automation.

Custom Silicon: Broadcom is an industry leader in providing highly complex and custom SoC ASICs to meet customers' needs for highly differentiated systems.

In 2015, Avago announced the acquisition of Broadcom for $37 billion. The deal is also the largest merger in the semiconductor industry. Avago will pay $17 billion in cash and $20 billion in stock. Avago will become the sixth-highest-grossing chipmaker in the world after acquiring Broadcom. Avago has made several acquisitions before, including buying LSI for $56 in late 2013. Compared with Broadcom, Avago's company is not large. This is a typical "snack big" merger. Avago's market value is only $36.3 billion, while Broadcom's annual revenue has reached $8.4 billion, much higher than Avago's $4.9 billion. Avago Technologies was founded in 1961 as the electronics division of Hewlett-Packard. The company pioneered the market for light-emitting diode (LED) displays and later entered the market for fiber optic transmitters, optical mouse sensors and other devices. In 2000, Avago Technologies became a division of Agilent Technologies, which was spun off from Hewlett-Packard. In 2005, a private equity group led by Silver Lake Fund and KKR acquired Avago Technologies for $2.66 billion and arranged for the company to be listed on Nasdaq in 2009.