Japan’s Rapidus Corp has prototyped an advanced chip, an early step in the government-backed start-up’s attempt to leapfrog years of innovation with the help of billions of dollars of public funding.
The firm last week printed circuitry on wafers using 2-nanometer gate-all-around process technology, Rapidus president Atsuyoshi Koike told reporters yesterday.
He did not disclose the number of functional chips produced.
Photo: Bloomberg
Rapidus, which in April began developing wafers using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment from ASML Holding NV, aims to be ready to help customers with their chips by March next year, Koike said.
The company, which hopes to mass produce cutting-edge semiconductors by 2027, remains far behind industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which plans to begin volume production of its 2-nanometer process later this year.
“I don’t think anyone else has been able to succeed at EUV lithography in just three months,” Koike said at a news conference in Chitose on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and the site of Rapidus’ factory. “To get to this stage, none of us slept.”
Japan has earmarked more than ￥1.72 trillion (US$11.6 billion) for Rapidus, part of a moonshot bid to manufacture cutting-edge chips at home. The overwhelming majority of the world’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips are manufactured by TSMC, sparking fears about reliance on a nation that China claims as its own.
Critics point to how past Japanese government efforts to help the private sector failed to revive the nation’s leadership — whether in displays, solar panels or memory chips — but uncertainty about US President Donald Trump’s willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack is spurring Japan’s efforts to build its own foundry.
Rapidus has also received funding from local industry leaders such as Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Group Corp.
“The world is astonished by how far we’ve come. Japan’s now taking on cutting-edge technology after lagging behind by more than a decade,” Rapidus chairman Tetsuro Higashi said.
Japanese officials have acknowledged the risks associated with the project.
Tokyo is studying plans to get golden shares with veto powers in exchange for some of the public money it’s promised. The government also is preparing to guarantee Rapidus’ debt, a move that the country’s lenders say is essential for them to lend to a startup that requires billions of dollars in equipment.
Rapidus is developing advanced chipmaking processes with IBM Corp, and has partnerships with the likes of Belgian research hub Interuniversity Microelectronics Center, the University of Tokyo and Japan’s Riken research institute.
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