Since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2021, many tech companies have enjoyed a surge in demand for data-center equipment needed to run and train large language models (LLMs). Nvidia has been the top beneficiary of this trend. But other companies like Broadcom have also boomed even though they serve different sides of the industry.

While Nvidia's bread and butter comes from general-purpose AI chips like its flagship B100, designed to maximize speed and processing power, Broadcom focuses on application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

These custom chips are tailor-made for a client's specific workload, making them more affordable and efficient. Broadcom makes ASICs for major tech companies like Alphabet and Meta Platforms. And this niche allows it to hold its own in an AI hardware industry otherwise dominated by Nvidia. Broadcom also provides software solutions to help clients build their own private cloud-computing networks.