Fidelity Sues Broadcom Over VMware Access Dispute, Warns of Systemic Risks

Fidelity Investments has filed a lawsuit against Broadcom, alleging the tech giant's decision to terminate access to VMware software could trigger catastrophic system failures. The financial services firm claims Broadcom's January 21 cutoff threatens to paralyze trading operations, lock customers out of accounts, and disrupt daily employee workflows.

The conflict stems from Broadcom's 2023 acquisition of VMware, after which the company overhauled product offerings. Fidelity asserts its infrastructure has relied on VMware's virtualization technology since 2005, with nearly 50 million customer accounts and critical trading systems dependent on the platform. Broadcom's restructuring replaced legacy tools with premium-priced bundles, creating what Fidelity describes as an untenable forced migration scenario.

Legal documents reveal Fidelity attempted to renew its existing contract under original terms, but Broadcom allegedly refused to honor previous agreements. The financial giant maintains the proposed transition WOULD require unnecessary and costly architectural changes to systems that currently function optimally.