Broadcom is facing a wave of lawsuits from major corporations and government agencies over its handling of VMware after the $61 billion acquisition closed in November 2023. The Broadcom VMware lawsuits share one core allegation: customers say Broadcom is refusing to honor pre-existing contracts for VMware software and support, and is instead forcing them into expensive bundled subscriptions they never agreed to. Plaintiffs so far include AT&T, T-Mobile, UnitedHealthcare, Fidelity, Tesco, and the Dutch government, and European regulators are weighing a formal antitrust investigation.
What Broadcom Changed After Buying VMware
The trigger for every case is the same set of business-model changes. Broadcom eliminated perpetual VMware licenses, consolidated roughly 168 products into a handful of subscription bundles built around VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation, shifted pricing from a per-CPU to a per-core metric, and terminated existing partner agreements with VMware resellers.1Park Place Technologies. VMware Licensing Changes Details Implications Recommendations
Customers have reported cost increases ranging from 85% to over 1,000%.2CIO Dive. Broadcom ATT VMware Settlement Licensing Support Lawsuit Some have reported support costs rising by as much as 450%.1Park Place Technologies. VMware Licensing Changes Details Implications Recommendations The bundles frequently include products the customer neither uses nor needs.
The Common Legal Claim
Across the customer suits, the theory is straightforward. Each plaintiff had a contract with VMware that included the right to renew licenses or support at defined terms. Each tried to exercise that right. Each says Broadcom refused unless the customer agreed to buy the new, more expensive bundles instead. The cases are, at their core, breach-of-contract claims about renewal rights, often coupled with requests for injunctions because losing VMware support would cause immediate operational damage.
AT&T v. Broadcom
AT&T filed the first major suit on August 29, 2024, in the New York State Supreme Court. It alleged Broadcom was breaching a contract rooted in a 2007 enterprise license agreement (amended in 2022) by refusing to honor a renewal option for VMware support covering 75,000 virtual machines. AT&T said Broadcom’s changes would spike its VMware costs by 1,050% and sought injunctive relief to prevent software crashes and network outages.3CIO Dive. ATT Sues Broadcom VMware Software Support Licensing
Broadcom countered that AT&T had been warned of the changes and had effectively opted out of support by failing to renew on time.2CIO Dive. Broadcom ATT VMware Settlement Licensing Support Lawsuit The case moved fast. After the court signaled it would issue a preliminary injunction in AT&T’s favor, the parties reached a confidential settlement-in-principle on November 22, 2024, and finalized it by December 13, 2024. No financial terms were disclosed.4TechTarget. Broadcom ATT Settle Lawsuit Over VMware Support
T-Mobile v. Broadcom
T-Mobile USA brought a similar case, alleging Broadcom refused to honor a contractual right to extend software support for one additional year under a master software license and support agreement. Broadcom had announced the termination of those services in December 2023 and pushed T-Mobile toward new products that were, in some cases, incompatible with its existing infrastructure.5NY Courts. T-Mobile USA Inc. v Broadcom Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 02226
On October 2, 2025, the New York Supreme Court granted T-Mobile a preliminary injunction preventing Broadcom from cutting off support while the underlying dispute went to arbitration, and set the undertaking at $500,000. On April 14, 2026, the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the injunction, agreeing T-Mobile had shown a likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm. It remanded only on the undertaking amount, finding $500,000 was not rationally related to Broadcom’s potential damages.5NY Courts. T-Mobile USA Inc. v Broadcom Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 02226
Fidelity v. Broadcom
Fidelity Technology Group sued Broadcom in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts in November 2025, alleging breach of contract and anticipatory repudiation over Broadcom’s refusal to honor a VMware subscription renewal.6Yahoo Finance. Fidelity Sues Broadcom Over Access
Fidelity warned that losing VMware access would cause “massive outages across major Fidelity platforms,” making customer contact centers unreachable, blocking employees from internal systems, and potentially preventing 50 million customers from accessing accounts or executing trades. Fidelity said a migration to alternative software would take 18 to 24 months.7RIABiz. Fidelity Unit Warns of Massive Outages Across Major Fidelity Platforms in New Lawsuit Broadcom initially set a termination date of December 22, 2025, then extended it to January 21, 2026.6Yahoo Finance. Fidelity Sues Broadcom Over Access Fidelity voluntarily dismissed the suit in January 2026 after Broadcom agreed to continue software and services.8Beeman Muchmore. Broadcom Acquisition of VMware Its Bad Part 2 of 2
UnitedHealthcare v. Broadcom
United Healthcare Services filed suit against Broadcom and CA, Inc. on April 2, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (case no. 0:25-cv-01189). The case covers both VMware products and legacy CA mainframe software that Broadcom acquired in 2018. UHC alleges Broadcom is demanding “hundreds of millions of dollars more” for continued access to CA software while trying to bundle CA renewals with VMware subscription purchases, in disregard of contractual renewal rights and pricing protections.9Network World. A Timeline of Broadcom VMware and Siemens Licensing Dispute
UHC sought preliminary and permanent injunctions to keep access to mission-critical CA software that had a renewal deadline of April 18, 2025, along with monetary damages.10Broadcom. UHC Redacted Complaint The case remains active.
Tesco v. Broadcom (UK High Court)
British supermarket chain Tesco filed suit in September 2025 against Broadcom, VMware, and IT reseller Computacenter in the UK High Court, seeking at least £100 million in damages. Tesco had purchased perpetual VMware licenses in 2021 with support and upgrade rights intended to run through 2026, covering roughly 40,000 server workloads that power everything from store tills to supply-chain logistics.11IT Asset Management. Tesco Sues Broadcom and Computacenter for 100M
Tesco goes beyond breach of contract, alleging Broadcom is abusing a dominant market position in violation of the UK Competition Act 1998 by imposing unfair trading conditions, bundling products, refusing to supply essential services, and charging excessive prices. Tesco says Broadcom rejected its October 2024 request to exercise contractual renewal provisions and instead proposed a seven-year bundled subscription at a 237% price increase.12ITPro. Tesco Is Taking Broadcom to Court Heres Why13Addleshaw Goddard. Tescos 100M Claim Against Broadcom VMware Computacenter
Computacenter, the reseller through which Tesco bought the licenses, has filed its own claims against Broadcom and Dell, arguing it cannot supply VMware services at the originally quoted prices because of Broadcom’s post-acquisition changes.14ITPro. Computacenter Enters the Fray Against Broadcom in Tescos VMware Lawsuit The case remains active.
Rijkswaterstaat v. Broadcom (Netherlands)
The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, through its executive arm Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), took Broadcom to court after the licensing overhaul. RWS relies on VMware to manage critical national infrastructure, including tunnels, locks, and bridges. Under Broadcom’s new model, its VMware costs would have risen roughly 85%, from about €2.1 million to nearly €4 million a year. RWS announced plans to phase out VMware over two to three years, but Broadcom refused to provide exit support beyond July 2025.15Network World. Dutch Court Forces Broadcom to Support VMware Migration After 85 Price Hike Backlash
On June 27, 2025, the District Court of The Hague ruled that Broadcom was acting in breach of its duty of care and ordered it to provide maintenance, support, bug fixes, and upgrades for up to two years so RWS could complete its migration. The court set the price at approximately €1.77 million per year and imposed a penalty of €250,000 per day for noncompliance, capped at €25 million.16The Register. VMware Must Support Dutch Govt Agencys Migration Judge
VMware v. Siemens (Broadcom as Plaintiff)
Not every case has Broadcom on the defense. VMware filed a copyright infringement complaint against Siemens AG and its U.S. affiliates on March 21, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging Siemens deployed tens of thousands of unlicensed VMware software instances valued at over $100 million.17CIO Dive. Broadcom VMware Siemens Licensing Lawsuit
The dispute surfaced in September 2024, when Siemens submitted a list of deployed software while requesting maintenance renewal. VMware says the list revealed deployments far exceeding Siemens’ purchased licenses, and that Siemens then tried to retract and revise it without a credible explanation and refused an audit.18The Register. VMware Sues Siemens for Using Unlicensed Software On February 12, 2026, a magistrate judge recommended denying Siemens’ motion to transfer the case to Munich under a forum selection clause, finding the clause too narrow to cover the copyright claims. The judge did recommend dismissing Siemens AG (the German parent) for lack of personal jurisdiction, leaving the U.S. affiliates as defendants.19SDxCentral. VMware Wins Partial Legal Battle With Siemens on a Single Word
CA v. Allstate and StanCorp
CA, Inc., a Broadcom affiliate, sued Allstate Insurance Company and StanCorp Financial Group on May 5, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (case no. 3:25-cv-03862). The suit follows Allstate’s $2 billion sale of its Employer Voluntary Benefits business to StanCorp, which closed on April 1, 2025. CA alleges Allstate breached a 2021 license agreement by letting the divested business and StanCorp keep using ESP Workload Automation software without securing the necessary rights, and brings claims for direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement seeking at least $80 million in damages, disgorgement, and an injunction. Allstate has said it acted in accordance with its contractual rights and obligations.20WilmerHale. Use of Software by Divested Business After Spinout Brings 80M Lawsuit
EU Antitrust Scrutiny
Alongside the litigation, Broadcom is under regulatory pressure in Europe. The European Commission has been evaluating whether to open an in-depth antitrust probe into Broadcom’s VMware licensing practices, and by early February 2026 had asked European cloud companies to provide evidence of irreparable harm from the post-acquisition changes.21Bloomberg. Broadcom Faces Mounting EU Scrutiny Over VMware Licensing Curbs
On March 19, 2026, CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe), whose members include Amazon and more than two dozen other cloud providers, filed a formal competition complaint with DG Competition. It was triggered by Broadcom’s January 2026 announcement terminating the VMware Cloud Service Provider program, which CISPE called a “death sentence” for many European tech suppliers. CISPE asked the Commission to impose interim measures, including suspending the termination and readmitting European cloud providers.22CISPE. CISPE Files Competition Complaint Against Broadcom23The Register. EU Cloud Lobby Drags Broadcom to Brussels As of May 2026, the Commission had confirmed it was assessing the complaint but had not opened formal proceedings.24CISPE. Broadcoms Double Standards and Delay Tactics in Ongoing EU Antitrust Investigation
How Courts Have Ruled So Far
Early outcomes lean toward the customers. AT&T and Fidelity both settled after courts signaled willingness to grant injunctive relief, with Broadcom continuing service in each case. T-Mobile won a preliminary injunction that was unanimously affirmed on appeal. The District Court of The Hague ordered Broadcom to continue support for the Dutch government under penalty of €250,000 per day. The Tesco, UnitedHealthcare, and Siemens cases remain active, and the European Commission is still weighing whether to open a formal antitrust investigation.