Broadcom is making its priorities for VMware increasingly difficult to miss.
Private cloud is the foundation. AI is becoming one of the workloads it wants enterprises to run on top of it.
That strategy will be front and center at VMware Explore 2026, scheduled for August 31 through September 3 at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas.
Broadcom says the event will include more than 400 technical breakout sessions, Hands-on Labs and certification opportunities centered around VMware Cloud Foundation.
VMware’s Next Chapter Is About Private AI
The event programming is organized across cloud infrastructure, security, application modernization and innovation.
But the bigger theme is private AI.
Ram Velaga, president of Broadcom’s Infrastructure Software Group, is scheduled to open a plenary session titled “Shaping the Future of Private AI Cloud and Agentic Innovation.”
Broadcom is positioning VMware Cloud Foundation as infrastructure capable of supporting traditional virtual machines, modern applications and increasingly AI workloads.
Why Private AI Matters
The AI infrastructure debate is no longer simply about where organizations can find enough GPUs.
Enterprises also have to decide where sensitive corporate data should live, how AI workloads will be governed and how much infrastructure control they are willing to hand to public cloud providers.
Private AI offers another option.
Instead of moving every workload and dataset into public AI services, organizations can build AI infrastructure around environments they directly control.
That gives VMware an opportunity to make private cloud relevant to the next major infrastructure transition.
Training The People Who Have To Run It
The 400-plus sessions at Explore are significant because enterprise AI ultimately has to be operated by someone.
Broadcom is emphasizing Hands-on Labs, certifications and technical training alongside its product announcements.
VMware Explore on Tour will subsequently bring training to Mumbai, Singapore, Frankfurt, Tokyo, London, Washington, D.C. and Sydney.
The Bottom Line
Broadcom’s VMware strategy is moving beyond the virtualization conversation.
The company wants VMware Cloud Foundation to become the operating foundation for private cloud infrastructure that can support AI alongside existing enterprise workloads.
VMware Explore 2026 will provide a clearer picture of how far Broadcom has moved toward that goal.
For IT leaders, the question is no longer simply what Broadcom plans to do with VMware.
It is whether VMware can make itself indispensable again as enterprises redesign infrastructure around AI.