March 7 (Reuters) - Broadcom's shares soared 12% in premarket trading on Friday as the chipmaker's strong revenue forecast helped restore some confidence in AI chip demand after a bruising sector-wide selloff following rival Marvell Technology's bleak outlook.

"Given the anxiety about AI conditions in general, these results should come as a relief," according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

Broadcom AVGO.O CEO Hock Tan said the company expects revenue of $4.4 billion in the second quarter for its artificial intelligence semiconductors as hyperscale customers invest in custom AI chips for data centers.

Marvell's MRVL.O shares closed down 19.8% on Thursday, marking their worst day in more than two decades, after an in-line revenue forecast.

Big Tech's push to diversify beyond Nvidia's NVDA.O pricey and supply-constrained AI processors has remained a tailwind for Broadcom.

"Perhaps the AI trade isn't as dead as feared ... but amid AI nervousness, (Broadcom) management's view of the future is becoming even more positive," Bernstein analysts said.

Reuters reported last month OpenAI was working with Broadcom to finalize its first custom chip design and reduce its reliance on Nvidia.

Broadcom's shares more than doubled in 2024, but have declined about 23% so far this year.

Peers Nvidia, Micron Technology MU.O, Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O and Marvell rose between 0.4% and 1.7% in premarket trading on Friday.

Broadcom has a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, compared with 23.46 for Nvidia and 24.50 for Marvell, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

((Kanchana.Chakravarty@thomsonreuters.com))