China Probes State Data Centers' Use of Broadcom Network Switches

China's government is surveying the use of Broadcom network switches inside state-backed data centers, the Financial Times reported. The review follows a pattern of Chinese scrutiny of U.S. semiconductor suppliers as Beijing pushes domestic alternatives in critical infrastructure. Broadcom's switches are widely used to move data between servers in large data centers, including the AI computing clusters that Chinese firms are racing to build. A push toward domestic substitutes would cut into Broadcom's addressable market in one of its largest growth regions, at a time when networking gear demand tied to AI buildouts has become a key part of the company's growth story. It is not yet clear whether the survey will lead to formal restrictions or is simply an inventory-taking exercise. Broadcom has not commented publicly on the report.