Japan's Rapidus Secures Major Funding
Japanese semiconductor firm Rapidus Corporation announced it has secured 267.6 billion yen in a new funding round from government and private sector sources. The strategic investment is intended to help the company advance from its current R&D phase to the mass production of 2-nanometer logic semiconductors. The company aims to begin mass production by 2027.
Rapidus was established in August 2022 as a consortium of eight major Japanese corporations, including Sony, Toyota, SoftBank, and NTT. The venture is a cornerstone of Japan's strategy to re-establish a leading position in the global semiconductor supply chain. The initiative seeks to reverse a long-term decline in Japan's semiconductor industry, which saw its global market share fall from over 50% in the 1980s to about 10% by 2019. The Japanese government has allocated ¥3.9 trillion over three years to support its domestic chip industry, a proportionally larger investment of its GDP than that of the U.S. or Germany. The 2-nanometer chip technology represents a monumental leap for Japan's domestic manufacturing, where the current most advanced node in production is 40nm. IBM, a key partner, projects its 2nm nanosheet technology can deliver 45% higher performance or use 75% less energy compared to the 7nm chips that were advanced in 2022. To accelerate development, Rapidus has entered a strategic partnership with IBM, sending more than 100 of its engineers to collaborate at IBM's Albany NanoTech Complex in New York. The company is led by Chairman Tetsuro Higashi, the former head of Tokyo Electron, and CEO Atsuyoshi Koike, previously the chief of Western Digital's Japan arm. Rapidus is currently building its first fabrication plant, named IIM (Innovative Integration for Manufacturing), in Chitose, Hokkaido. The company plans to launch a pilot production line at the facility in 2025 as it works toward its 2027 mass production target. The race to 2nm production is a global one, with Rapidus facing stiff competition from the world's leading chipmakers. Industry giants like Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung are also targeting a similar 2025 timeframe for their own 2nm chip production.
