Japan's Rapidus Secures ¥267.6B for 2nm Chip Production
Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corporation announced it has secured 267.6 billion yen in a new funding round from the Japanese government and private sector companies. The strategic investment is intended to help the company advance from its R&D phase to mass production of 2-nanometer logic semiconductors by 2027.
Rapidus was established in August 2022 as a public-private partnership to revitalize Japan's semiconductor industry. The company is a joint venture of eight major Japanese corporations, including Toyota, Sony, and NTT, with significant financial backing from the Japanese government. This initiative is a strategic move to regain the country's former prominence in the chip market, a position it lost after dominating in the 1980s. The company is focused on the ambitious goal of mass-producing 2-nanometer (2nm) chips, a technology not yet in mass production by any global competitor. To achieve this, Rapidus has partnered with IBM for its 2nm nanosheet transistor technology and is collaborating with the Belgian research hub imec. Over 100 of its engineers have been training at IBM's facility in Albany, New York. The new funding is part of a larger Japanese government strategy to invest heavily in its domestic semiconductor industry, proportionally spending more of its GDP than the United States and Germany. This aggressive industrial policy aims to ensure a stable supply of advanced chips, which are critical for technologies like AI and for the nation's economic security. Rapidus is constructing its fabrication plant in Chitose, Hokkaido, with a pilot line expected to start in 2025. The company is facing a tight timeline, entering a competitive field against established giants like Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung, who are also racing to bring 2nm chips to market.
