Broadcom Inc. was called Avago Technologies before it acquired Broadcom Corporation and adopted the Broadcom name in 2016.
Avago Technologies was formed from the semiconductor products business that separated from Agilent Technologies in 2005. In 2015, Avago announced an agreement to acquire Broadcom Corporation. The transaction closed in 2016, and the combined company became Broadcom Inc., while Broadcom Corporation’s former public identity ended.
This history creates a common mix-up: the current company is legally descended from Avago, but it uses the much better-known Broadcom name. Broadcom Inc. is also separate from Broadcom Corporation’s earlier stock-market identity, even though the businesses became one organization after the acquisition.
Broadcom develops semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Its portfolio has included networking, connectivity, broadband, storage, and wireless technologies. Market capitalization rankings vary with share prices, whereas the 2016 name change is a fixed corporate-history fact.