Broadcom bundles private AI into VCF, adds security automation

Broadcom has announced a significant overhaul of its flagship VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) platform, integrating its private AI services into the core subscription and adding support for cloud-native object storage to its vSAN storage virtualisation software.

The announcements are positioned as a direct response to enterprise demands for simplified infrastructure, cost-efficient AI adoption, and cyber resiliency.

The move comes as Broadcom continues to navigate the fallout from its acquisition of VMware, which saw customer backlash over the shift to subscription-only licensing and the consolidation of its product portfolio. These new announcements are seen as efforts by Broadcom to demonstrate value and a long-term strategy for VCF as the central private cloud platform for enterprises.

A key highlight is the integration of the VMware Private AI Foundation with Nvidia into the standard VCF subscription. Previously a separate, advanced service, this change means all VCF customers will now have access to the tools needed to build and run generative AI workloads without an additional licence.

“We wanted to provide this capability inherently within VCF, so all of our existing VCF customers, as well as our new customers, will have our Private AI services as part of their VCF subscription,” said Prashanth Shenoy, vice-president of product marketing for the VCF division at Broadcom.

VMware’s Private AI services include graphics processing unit (GPU) virtualisation, which allows for capabilities like vMotion and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), to improve the utilisation rate of costly GPU resources. Besides supporting Nvidia’s latest Blackwell B2100 GPUs, VMware has expanded its partnership with AMD to support AMD Instinct MI350 series GPUs for private AI workloads.

Broadcom has also announced the general availability of Amazon S3-compatible object storage within vSAN. This allows VCF to provide unified management for block, file, and now object storage, which is critical for modern and AI-driven applications.

Shenoy said this will allow IT teams to run unified storage operations with a simplified workflow for all data types, and support data recovery and AI workloads. Developers can also deploy and consume object storage without dealing with the complexity of the underlying infrastructure.

In a bid to win over developers, VMware has also partnered with Canonical to integrate “chiselled” Ubuntu container images. These minimal-dependency images are designed to be lighter and faster, reducing the potential attack surface. Shenoy claimed the developer-focused innovations could lead to a “30-40% increase in developer productivity.”

On the security front, VMware is rolling out a new four-stage automated process, from assessing and protecting shared services to zoning applications and applying granular, app-level segmentation, in its vDefend security platform. Umesh Mahajan, vice-president and general manager of application networking and security at Broadcom, said this will help customers achieve baseline security in weeks rather than months.

For organisations with stringent regulatory needs, VMware is launching the VCF Cyber Compliance Advanced Service. This new add-on will provide integrated compliance and configuration drift management, unified cyber and disaster recovery, and premium support for vulnerability management. Shenoy said the service is designed “to help highly regulated industries meet their compliance requirements in more cost and operationally efficient manner.”

The company also previewed its future direction for AI in IT operations. Mahajan said plans are afoot to develop generative AI assistants to provide “rapid insights regarding operational states which are highly dynamic,” helping IT teams resolve complex issues like identifying which firewall rule is blocking an application or diagnosing performance problems.

Collectively, the announcements signal Broadcom’s “all-in” strategy on VCF as the single, integrated private cloud platform. By bundling more capabilities like Private AI and native storage into the core product, Broadcom is making a clear attempt to add tangible value to the subscription model that has been a source of significant controversy and concern for customers over the past year.

During the opening keynote at VMware Explore 2025 in Las Vegas this week, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan noted that VCF 9, the latest version of the VCF platform, is the result of “tough engineering work” that went into integrating the building blocks of a private cloud, which VMware never really did despite innovating for years. “VCF 9 is the combination of 25 years of VMware technology and innovation, and this is the platform for the future,” he said.