Apple and Broadcom sign a custom ASIC agreement worth over $30 billion, to produce 15 billion chips in the U.S., and extend the partnership through 2031.

BlockBeats message, July 8 — On Wednesday, Apple officially announced details of a multi-year agreement reached with Broadcom. The total amount is expected to exceed $30 billion. The two sides will jointly design and produce custom ASIC chip component solutions and cutting-edge wireless connectivity technologies for multiple Apple products. Under the agreement, Broadcom will produce more than 15 billion chips in the United States, and will invest $1.5 billion to expand its manufacturing plant in Fort Collins, Colorado. The plant mainly produces FBAR filters and advanced radio-frequency (RF) components—these are core chips that enable wireless communication in devices such as iPhone and Mac. Apple has been working with Broadcom to develop this technology since 2023. In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized that this move “further underscores our unwavering commitment to American manufacturing and innovation.” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said, “We’re honored to continue deepening our relationship after decades of successful collaboration.” This agreement is the largest cooperation project to date under Apple’s previously announced four-year $600 billion U.S. investment plan.

The strategic upgrade of this agreement lies in a full-scale expansion from traditional RF components to custom ASIC chips, which closely matches earlier reports about Apple and Broadcom jointly developing an AI server processor codenamed “Baltra.” The chip is expected to use TSMC’s N3P process for mass production in 2026, aiming to build tailored compute capacity for Apple’s internal AI workloads. For Broadcom, Apple accounts for approximately 20% of its annual revenue; this renewal provides long-term revenue visibility and confirms the irreplacability of its custom ASIC business model. Broadcom has currently expanded its AI ASIC customer footprint to leading technology companies including Google, Meta, ByteDance, and OpenAI. In the first quarter, AI-related revenue reached $8.4 billion, up 106% year over year. JPMorgan expects Broadcom’s AI revenue to grow by 2 to 2.5 times in 2027, and to double again in 2028. Worth noting is that this agreement was signed right ahead of Cook’s departure—Cook will transition to Executive Chairman on September 1, and Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering Ternus will take over as CEO. The new agreement means Apple is expected to find it difficult to completely shift to self-developed cellular basebands before 2031, and the self-developed replacement timeline is longer than people outside had imagined.