Japan backs Rapidus

Japan approved another ¥631.5 billion, about $4 billion, for Rapidus on April 11, deepening its bet on a domestic maker of advanced chips. (reuters.com) Japan’s industry ministry said the new money will speed research and development at Rapidus, and Reuters reported the company’s total research-and-development assistance has now reached ¥2.354 trillion. Rapidus is targeting mass production of 2-nanometer logic semiconductors in fiscal 2027. (reuters.com) A nanometer is a label for how tightly chip features are packed, and smaller generations generally aim for more computing power with lower electricity use. Rapidus says its 2-nanometer program centers on gate-all-around transistors, a design it describes as key to higher performance and lower power consumption. (rapidus.inc) Rapidus is building its production base in Chitose, Hokkaido, and said its pilot line started up in April 2025 after it installed extreme ultraviolet lithography and other equipment. On April 11, 2026, the company also said it opened an analysis center next to the foundry to support the move toward mass production in 2027. (rapidus.inc 1) (rapidus.inc 2) The project is one of Japan’s biggest industrial pushes in years as Tokyo tries to rebuild leading-edge chip capacity at home. Bloomberg reported the government expects to have put ¥2.6 trillion into Rapidus by the end of the current fiscal year ending March 2027. (bloomberg.com) Tokyo is also tying that spending to customers and design work, not just factory construction. Reuters said the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization will support semiconductor design projects by Fujitsu and IBM Japan alongside the new Rapidus funding. (reuters.com) Rapidus was founded in August 2022 and has leaned on overseas technical partners as it tries to catch up with established foundries. The company said it sent engineers to International Business Machines in the United States to jointly develop 2-nanometer mass-production technology, and International Business Machines said the two sides had reached a new milestone on 2-nanometer chip production in late 2024. (rapidus.inc) (ibm.com) The money from Tokyo is arriving alongside a broader financing push. Rapidus said on February 27, 2026, that it had completed a ¥267.6 billion funding round, including ¥100 billion from the Information-technology Promotion Agency and ¥167.6 billion from 32 private-sector companies such as Fujitsu, NTT, SoftBank and Sony Group. (rapidus.inc) Rapidus still has to prove it can do more than build a pilot line. Bloomberg reported the company wants roughly ¥3 trillion in private financing and an initial public offering around fiscal 2031, while competing against Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which had already begun 2-nanometer volume production last year. (bloomberg.com)