The Japanese government would invest ￥250 billion (US$1.6 billion) in state-backed Rapidus Corp as part of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pledge to boost domestic chipmaking.
The latest funding, which would be distributed over the next two financial years, brings Japan closer to its goal of providing ￥3 trillion in total support to help Rapidus mass-produce 2-nanometer logic chips and potentially challenge industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
Under the new arrangement, the government would initially hold only about 10 percent of Rapidus’ voting shares and own the majority of its stake in non-voting stock, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official Tomoshige Nambu said yesterday.
Photo: Bloomberg
However, the state retains the right to convert them into voting shares to seize majority control if the company faces financial distress.
The government would also acquire “golden shares,” granting it the ultimate veto power over major corporate changes, Nambu said.
Takaichi has doubled down on her predecessors’ semiconductor ambitions, viewing domestic production as a pillar of economic security.
The ministry is set to nearly quadruple its budgeted support for cutting-edge semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) development to about ￥1.23 trillion for the fiscal year starting in April.
The push comes as geopolitical tensions and a surge in generative AI heighten the strategic importance of high-end silicon.
On top of state support, Rapidus has also secured ￥167.6 billion from about 30 private companies to help its goal of launching mass production by March 2028.
Still, Takaichi’s government is not pinning its chipmaking ambitions on Rapidus alone. The prime minister has also secured a pledge from TSMC that it would upgrade its technology and plants in Japan.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
TECH WINNERS: Taiwan and South Korea reported robust trade, which suggests that they have critical advantages in the rapidly expanding AI supply chain, an official said Exports last month surged to a new high, as booming demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fueled shipments of advanced technology components, underscoring the nation’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Outbound shipments climbed to US$80.18 billion, the highest ever for a single month, rising 61.8 percent from a year earlier and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. “The surge was driven primarily by global investment in AI infrastructure,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. The mass production of next-generation AI computing systems has accelerated procurement across the semiconductor supply
RSS