Broadcom unveils BCM68850, a 50G PON home gateway chip with Wi-Fi 8 and an NPU

On May 26, 2026 Broadcom announced the BCM68850, which it calls the industry's first 50G ITU-PON home gateway SoC. The chip pairs symmetric 50G fiber throughput with an integrated neural processing unit for edge AI and native Wi-Fi 8 support. It is aimed at broadband operators upgrading home gateways. The launch is part of Broadcom's non-AI broadband and wireless business, which is smaller and more cyclical than its AI chip line.

• Claims symmetric 50G throughput in both directions
• Integrated NPU for on-device edge AI inference
• Native Wi-Fi 8 compatibility
• Separate CPU for operator and third-party applications