Japan backs Rapidus with ¥631.5B

Japan approved another ¥631.5 billion for Rapidus on April 11, deepening its bet that a startup can put advanced chip production back in Japan. (reuters.com) Japan’s industry ministry said the money will speed research and development at Rapidus, lifting the company’s cumulative research support to ¥2.354 trillion. Reuters reported the new package at about $3.96 billion. (reuters.com) Rapidus is trying to build 2-nanometer logic chips, the kind used for the fastest processors, and still says it wants mass production in fiscal 2027. The company says its business is advanced semiconductor design, manufacturing and packaging, and its latest funding plan is meant to carry it from research into production. (rapidus.inc, rapidus.inc) That matters because the market for leading-edge logic chips is concentrated in a handful of companies, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Samsung Electronics and Intel. Japan once dominated semiconductors in the 1980s, but lost ground in advanced logic manufacturing over the following decades. (bloomberg.com, rapidus.inc) Tokyo has spent the past two years trying to rebuild a domestic chip base as artificial intelligence demand rises and governments worry about supply-chain shocks. Bloomberg reported the state’s total fees and investments in Rapidus are set to reach about ¥2.6 trillion by March 2027. (bloomberg.com) Rapidus was set up in August 2022 with backing from eight Japanese companies: Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, SoftBank, Sony and Toyota. In February 2026, Rapidus said it had also completed a ¥267.6 billion funding round from the government and private companies, including ¥167.6 billion from 32 private-sector investors. (rapidus.inc, wikipedia.org) The technology plan depends heavily on foreign partners. Rapidus is working with International Business Machines on 2-nanometer process and chiplet packaging technology, and imec said in 2022 that Rapidus joined its core partner program to help develop building blocks for mass production. (newsroom.ibm.com, imec-int.com) The Japanese government is also moving beyond subsidies. Jiji Press reported on April 8 that the cabinet adopted legislation to allow direct government investment in Rapidus, with a plan to secure ¥100 billion in the fiscal 2025 budget to help the company raise more private money. (jiji.com) The open question is no longer whether Tokyo will fund Rapidus. It is whether Rapidus can turn public money, foreign technology partnerships and a 2027 deadline into chips that customers will actually buy. (bloomberg.com, rapidus.inc)