With all due respect to Pat Gelsinger
I don't see any positives for VMware customers if Broadcom were to acquire VMware.
All due respect to Pat, Broadcom hasn't shown it positively affects innovation via software companies they've acquired. The acquisition is a solid investment for Broadcom. They get to meet financial goals better. However, software innovation and integration aren't at the core of Broadcom's capabilities. I think they've proven that with the post-acquisition resume of both CA and Symantec. With Symantec, there was talk of putting encryption and data protection directly on Broadcom's chips. We haven't seen or heard anything since the acquisition.
There's the hope that Broadcom + VMware will lead to some Apple M1 type system on a chip integration for edge uses. But unfortunately, I don't see that paying off anytime soon, given it took Apple years of development and billions of iPhone sales to perfect their system on a chip design.
Broadcom seems to be where software companies go when they've reached maturity. As an enterprise customer, I'd view the acquisition to acknowledge that VMware has reached maturity in its innovation journey. But unfortunately, I don't see the acquisition as a net positive for customers. There's no material benefit I can foresee.