Broadcom and Apple extend chip partnership through 2031, deepening long-term supply for iPhone wireless components

Broadcom said it has agreed to expand its partnership with Apple through 2031 to develop and supply a range of custom chips, a move that the market interpreted as a further sign of Apple’s long-term commitment to key suppliers. Broadcom’s shares were up nearly 4% in premarket trading after the announcement.

According to reporting cited by multiple outlets, Broadcom has been a longtime supplier of critical wireless components for Apple devices. That includes custom radio-frequency (RF) chips used in iPhones, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity chips and other networking semiconductor components.

The extended agreement matters to both sides because Apple is balancing two competing realities in modern chipmaking: designing more of its own silicon while still relying on specialized external suppliers for connectivity building blocks. While Apple increasingly incorporates in-house processors into its devices and has moved into areas such as cellular modem work, it still depends on Broadcom for key wireless and RF functionality, the reporting said.

Analysts have also framed Apple as a major customer for Broadcom. One cited estimate puts Apple’s share at about 20% of Broadcom’s annual revenue, making the relationship strategically important even for a company with a broad customer base.

The partnership extension also reflects the broader semiconductor shift toward “custom” chips, meaning chips designed for a specific device or system rather than mass-market standard parts. In the AI era, custom silicon has gained urgency as companies look for more efficient ways to run workloads, including inference, the process where models generate responses to user prompts.

Broadcom’s relationship with Apple is not limited to today’s announcement. In 2023, the companies announced a multibillion-dollar agreement for Broadcom to develop and manufacture 5G RF components, according to the same reporting cited by outlets. Extending that supplier role through 2031 suggests continuity in Apple’s strategy of using long-duration supply agreements to reduce disruption risk.

Separately, the extension highlights how Apple’s supply-chain planning increasingly centers on resilience. A longer partnership term can help ensure that advanced chip programs, which often require long design cycles and capacity commitments, do not get squeezed as demand shifts across product launches and technology generations.

Broadcom did not provide, in the post coverage, the full list of which specific chip families are covered by the extended agreement, nor did it disclose financial terms. It also did not outline how the supply mix might change if Apple continues to advance in-house chip development or if it accelerates new wireless modem approaches.