News of Broadcom’s plans to acquire VMware triggered concerns among customers , partners, and industry watchers, many of whom recalled Broadcom’s track record with prior high-profile acquisitions, including network switching vendor Brocade, software firm CA Technologies, and Symantec’s enterprise security business. So far, the $60 billion Broadcom-VMware deal has led to some layoffs , VMware licensing changes, production rationalizations, shifts to the partner program, and multiple lawsuits . Broadcom has been making moves to placate enterprises that are unhappy with its VMware licensing overhaul and struggling with upgrade fatigue. It announced plans to shift from aggressive two-year major release cycles to a more measured three-year cadence, and it’s extending support for VCF 9.0 to six years instead of the previous five. Meanwhile, competitors are claiming some success in attracting VM defectors , though analysts aren’t reporting widespread migrations. We’ve tracked the saga since Broadcom first announced plans to acquire VMware in May 2022. Here’s a record of what has transpired so far, plus the latest news and analysis. Private AI cloud, agentic infrastructure dominate VMware Explore Aug. 31, 2026 : Broadcom announced a new packaged AI infrastructure stack it’s calling the VMware AI Factory today at VMware Explore in Las Vegas. The company also announced a new agent governance platform and an open-source security portfolio. The bet is that companies will want to run their production AI on premises using VMware Private AI Cloud. Broadcom says that enterprise AI agents need two things: Data they can trust and boundaries they can’t cross Aug. 31, 2026 : When given the authority to act autonomously, AI agents can inadvertently leak or expose data, rack up huge token costs, or produce inaccurate or patently false outputs. These risks, says VMware, require a new type of platform that imposes strict controls over what agents can do, while giving them access to the contextually-relevant data they need. With this in mind, Broadcom has introduced a new secure, AI-ready data foundation in the VMware Tanzu Platform . Announced today at VMware Explore, the offering is intended to help enterprises move beyond pilot purgatory to production-ready agents. Will Broadcom’s VMware strategy keep paying big dividends? June 3, 2026 : Whether Broadcom’s strategy is brilliant (from the Wall Street perspective) or diabolical (from the enterprise perspective), it seems to be working. Broadcom’s first quarter 2026 revenue was up 29%, and the company said it expects an astounding 47% year-over-year increase in the current quarter. So, what happened to the mass migration away from VMware and onto alternative virtualization platforms or the public cloud? And is the Broadcom strategy sustainable over the long term? Broadcom bets big on VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 May 5, 2026 : Broadcom described the newly launched VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 as an AI- and Kubernetes-native private cloud platform with integrated security and mixed compute infrastructure support across AMD, Intel and Nvidia. The new release has three major areas of focus: Helping customers address the increasing hardware supply crisis and increasing hardware costs, high velocity application delivery of AI-enabled applications, and providing a fully secure environment through a zero-trust architecture. Some enterprises are dropping VMware, just not all at once Feb. 18, 2026 : While the predicted mass exodus from VMware hasn’t materialized, many enterprises are actively reducing their VMware footprint , a new survey shows. Some 88% are worried about VMware license price increases in the future, according to a survey commissioned by cloud cost optimization and management firm CloudBolt. As a result, 86% are reducing their use of VMware. IBM won’t sell VMware to new cloud customers Oct. 29, 2025 : IBM has decided not to offer VMware and VMware Cloud Foundation to new cloud customers, paving the way for it to openly pitch Red Hat OpenShift as a virtualization option instead. The move to limit sales of VMware licenses was forced on it by Broadcom, according to an announcement on the status pages for IBM Cloud. Broadcom’s VMware strategy pays off financially, but customers not as keen as Wall Street Sept. 9, 2025: To many attendees at this year’s VMware Explore conference, turnout felt smaller, there were fewer sessions than last year , and there were markedly fewer vendors on the exhibit floor. But while the mood among VMware Explore attendees was dour, Wall Street seems to be celebrating Broadcom’s moves. According to an earnings report released Sept. 4, Broadcom’s net revenues jumped sharply in 2024, marking the fastest increase in the company’s history. Broadcom touts AI-native VMware, but gains aren’t revolutionary Sept. 9, 2025: Broadcom’s VMware has taken on the AI mantle, declaring that the VMware Cloud Foundation platform is now “AI native.” The AI features are now a core part of the platform, instead of add-ons requiring additional payment, and VCF’s AI feature set continues to expand, keeping pace with industry trends. In the big picture, however, Broadcom didn’t set the world ablaze with the announcements at its VMware Explore conference. They were all the obvious next steps for the company and do not move the needle forward on AI technology. VMware Avi load balancer gains AI integration and post-quantum security Sept. 9, 2025: The role of load balancing is growing in the genAI era. Broadcom announced significant enhancements coming to VMware Avi release 31.1.1 . The update introduces plug-and-play integration with VCF 9.0 private cloud, AI-powered operational capabilities, and post-quantum cryptography support. These developments reflect the platform’s evolution from a traditional load balancer into a comprehensive application services platform. Running the numbers on VCF: How one midsize enterprise is making it work Sept. 2, 2025 : Broadcom’s shift to all-in-one, perpetual licenses for VMware Cloud Foundation has infuriated customers and priced out some companies, but 750-employee Grinnell Mutual has managed to save money on the new platform . “I had followed the acquisition very closely and heard what people had been saying about pricing,” Jeremy Wright, director of IT infrastructure at the insurance company, told Network World . Wright could see how some larger companies might benefit from the new structure, but it wasn’t clear how a small company like Grinnell would be affected. When he dug into the numbers, Wright discovered that Grinnell would actually come out ahead – substantially ahead. Broadcom tackles agentic AI security challenges Aug. 26, 2025 : Broadcom announced new security enhancements for its VMware vDefend and VMware Avi products , which are part of the VMware Cloud Foundation Cyber Compliance Advanced Services. Upgrades include more security for agentic workflows, including model context protocol (MCP) servers, and support for post-quantum encryption, among other improvements. Broadcom launches VMware Tanzu Data Intelligence and Tanzu Platform 10.3 to drive agentic AI August 26, 2025: Broadcom is pushing its new data lakehouse platform as the answer to all an enterprise’s data challenges — or almost. VMware Tanzu Data Intelligence will enable users to curate incoming data across many different environments with its data ingestion, streaming, and pipeline engine, the company said its VMware Explore conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Customers are looking for VCF value August 19, 2025 : Despite grumbling by customers, as well as legal action against Broadcom on a number of fronts, there’s no indication that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan is wavering the least bit from his strategy. Broadcom’s pitch is that VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) enables IT organizations to run a modern, virtualized, high-performance, highly automated, AWS-style cloud in an on-prem environment with all of the benefits that accrue. All customers need to do is take advantage of VCF’s full arsenal of features. And that’s the sole focus of VMware Explore 2025 . Chinese ‘Fire Ant’ spies start to bite unpatched VMware instances July 28, 2025: Suspected China-aligned actors are running a new “Fire Ant” espionage campaign, active since early 2025, that targets VMWare ESXi, vCenter servers, and F5 appliances to achieve stealthy hypervisor-level control. According to a Sygnia discovery, the campaign has been exploiting critical flaws in VMware environments to gain unauthenticated access to virtualization infrastructure and deploy persistent malware like VirtualPita and autobackup.bin. CISPE seeks to annul Broadcom’s VMware takeover July 24, 2025: The Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE) has filed an action for annulment in a bid to overturn the decision by the European Commission approving Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. CISPE spokesperson Ben Maynard said that the appeal, which is now before the European General Court, “argues that the Commission did not properly test the licensing remedies offered by Broadcom and under-estimated the risk the deal poses to European cloud infrastructure providers and their customers. CISPE believes the clearance would entrench VMware’s licensing gatekeeper position and limit choice and innovation in Europe’s cloud market.” Broadcom blocks VMware patch access for perpetual license holders with expired support contracts July 24, 2025: VMware customers holding perpetual licenses without current support contracts are being blocked from accessing critical security patches through Broadcom’s support portal, according to a report. The access restrictions create immediate security risks for enterprise customers, particularly as VMware has published multiple critical security advisories in 2025 Facing CIO backlash, VMware extends support and slows down release cycles July 18, 2025: VMware has fundamentally altered its development strategy , shifting from aggressive 2-year major release cycles to a more measured 3-year cadence while extending support lifecycles, a strategic retreat that reflects mounting enterprise resistance to forced upgrades amid dramatic cost increases. The company announced that VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, now generally available, will be supported for six years instead of the previous five, with minor releases spaced nine months apart rather than every six months. Timeline of Broadcom-VMware-Siemens licensing dispute July 10, 2025: Last fall, Siemens threatened to sue VMware if it didn’t provide ongoing support for its software and handed over a list of the softwareHowever, that list included software that Siemens didn’t have licenses for VMware sued, Here’s blow-by-blow account of the Broadcom-VMware-Siemens battle . Licensing lessons from VMware-Siemens spat July 7, 2025: Siemens got into some hot water after Broadcom acquired VMware and changed licensing terms. What can enterprises learn from this dispute? Dutch court forces Broadcom to support VMware migration after 85% price hike backlash July 1, 2025: VMware and parent company Broadcom must continue to provide support to the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) while the agency migrates away from VMware products over the next two years, a Dutch court has ordered. VMware licenses too expensive? Then you’re doing something wrong, Broadcom exec suggests June 24, 2025: Broadcom customers frustrated by the shift to pricey software bundles like VMware Cloud Foundation should reconsider their value , said EMEA CTO Joe Baguley, who argues that broader use of included components reveals the true benefits. Broadcom grows revenues by 20% following VMware purchase, as customers fume about subscription costs June 6, 2025: Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware continues to prove itself a worthy purchase , even as the semiconductor giant has faced harsh criticism, and lost some customers, due to significant price increases. VMware customers in Europe face up to 1,500% price increases under Broadcom ownership May 23, 2025: VMware customers across Europe are facing massive price increases of up to 1,500% imposed by Broadcom following its acquisition of the virtualization software giant, with some companies now confronting the prospect of zero profitability, according to a damning new report. Broadcom’s licensing clampdown: Subscription-less VMware users face legal ultimatum May 9, 2025: Broadcom has initiated what appears to be a systematic legal offensive against subscription-less VMware customers who hold a perpetual software license and have expired support contracts, some within days of expiration. Broadcom allegedly sends demand letters to perpetual VMware license holders May 8, 2025: The letters state that users suspected of unauthorized use of patches, bug fixes, and updates released after the expiration of the support agreement may be subject to review . The exception detailed in the letter is security patches for zero-day vulnerabilities, according to the report. Broadcom (quietly) brings back free VMware ESXi hypervisor April 17, 2025: With little notice or fanfare, Broadcom is offering a free version of the VMware ESXi hypervisor for download. VMware vSphere Hypervisor version 8 can be downloaded from Broadcom’s support portal for free, but registration is required. VMware plugs a high-risk vulnerability affecting its Windows-based virtualization March 26, 2025: Broadcom is warning customers of a high-severity authentication bypass flaw , now fixed, affecting VMWare Tools for Windows. Tracked as CVE-2025-22230, the issue stems from improper access control and could allow privilege escalation on the affected system. VMware ESXi gets critical patches for in-the-wild virtual machine escape attack March 4, 2025: Broadcom r eleased emergency patches for its VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion products to fix three vulnerabilities that can lead to virtual machine escape and are actively being exploited by attackers. Products that include VMware ESXi, such as VMware vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation, and VMware Telco Cloud Platform, are also impacted. CISPE raises red alert over VMware licensing changes Feb. 12, 2025 : A European cloud monitoring body came down hard on Broadcom for its failure to keep cloud licensing practices fair in the region. The association of cloud infrastructure service providers also warned that all is not well in its drive to get Microsoft to level the software licensing playing field. Is VMware really becoming the new mainframe? February 11, 2025: In the wake of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, many CIOs have considered whether to drop VMware from their IT portfolios. But because the popular virtualization platform can be too expensive and pervasive to replace even if they may want to, they may find themselves with a mainframe-type of dilemma. Thinking of moving off VMware? Gartner tallies cost Feb. 3, 2025 : New data from analyst firm Gartner shows the cost of a VMware migration could outweigh the benefits when software and hardware purchases, personnel costs, early termination fees, and other operational expenses are calculated. “The size and scope of large-scale migration will vary, but we expect a midsize enterprise would take at least two years to untangle much of its dependency upon VMware’s server virtualization platform,” the firm writes. VMware offers fixes to severe vulnerabilities in VMware Aria January 31, 2025: VMware has fixed multiple high-severity vulnerabilities affecting its cloud management platform (CMP), VMware Aria, which could allow attackers to steal sensitive credentials from the virtualization giant’s IT management and logging solutions. AT&T and Broadcom near settlement in VMware support dispute Oct. 16, 2024 : AT&T and Broadcom are close to resolving their legal dispute over VMware support services , according to a joint letter filed in the New York Supreme Court on October 11. The letter requests a postponement of the upcoming hearing, as both sides make progress toward a settlement. The dispute, which revolves around the extension of support services following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, has drawn attention due to its potential impact on broader enterprise IT support contracts. Broadcom hits back at AT&T in VMware support dispute Sept. 23, 2024 : Broadcom has fired back in the ongoing legal dispute with AT&T over VMware software support services, claiming that AT&T is resorting to “sensationalism” and had long intended to stop using VMware software but delayed the move. In a new court filing, Broadcom alleges that AT&T’s lawsuit is an attempt to secure more time to transition to other software while still receiving discounted support services, which Broadcom has already phased out for perpetual license holders. AT&T sues Broadcom over breach of contract, cites threat to national security Sept. 5, 2024 : AT&T is suing Broadcom over its strong-armed handling of VMware support contracts. “Broadcom is attempting to retroactively alter existing agreements, forcing us into purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars in bundled services,” AT&T stated in a lawsuit it filed against Broadcom in New York’s Supreme Court. “Without the support services, AT&T cannot prevent software errors, security vulnerabilities, or system outages that routinely occur.” Broadcom’s vision for VMware highlights private clouds, private AI Aug. 30, 2024 : “The future of the enterprise, your enterprises, is private,” said Broadcom president and CEO Hock Tan in a keynote address at this year’s VMware Explore conference . “Private cloud. Private AI. Fueled by your own private data. It’s about staying on-prem and in control. “ Customer concerns loom as VMware Explore event approaches Aug. 19, 2024 : This year’s VMware Explore marks the first time for the flagship customer event since Broadcom finalized its acquisition of VMware last November. Enterprise customers have questions about VMware’s future direction , licensing changes, and product roadmap following Broadcom’s takeover. Customers want to continue to see innovation across the VMware portfolio, says one analyst. They also want to see Broadcom focus on integration, interface design, and an easier adoption path. Broadcom distrust drives sales for VMware competition Aug. 14, 2024 : Concerns about the new direction VMware is taking are driving some enterprise customers to consider alternative platforms from vendors such as Scale Computing, Nutanix and Oxide Computer. Scale Computing said in its most recent quarterly earnings announcement that sales have taken off and its new customers have doubled over the past year, thanks in part to Broadcom’s changes to VMware sales operations. Nutanix hunts disgruntled VMware customers July 01, 2024 : Nutanix began aggressively courting VMware customers who might be open to jumping ship in the wake of VMware’s purchase by Broadcom and some of the unpopular moves that followed. In addition, Nutanix recently signed key partnerships with some unlikely on-and-off competitors: Dell, Cisco and HPE. Broadcom tosses VMware users a bone, extends vSphere 7 support six months July 25, 2024: Broadcom has announced that VMware vSphere 7.x users will get six additional months of support for the product. VMware vSphere 7, which was launched in 2020, was scheduled to go out of support in April 2025 but will now be maintained until October 2025. Broadcom bolsters VMware Edge Compute Stack June 26, 2024 : A slew of updates in VMware ECS 3.5 are aimed at helping customers more easily manage edge devices, applications, and infrastructure across multiple locations. Updates include zero-touch orchestration capabilities, pull-based architecture, and edge fleet management. European trade body lashes out at Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes April 23, 2024 : Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) strongly criticized Broadcom’s response