Semiconductor manufacturing
Toyota-backed semiconductor manufacturer Rapidus to create chip hub on island of Hokkaido in Japan
Rapidus, an emerging and rapidly growing Japanese semiconductor manufacturer, has been selected as the “official business operator” by the government of Japan. The company, founded in 2022, will apply to receive up to ¥100 billion ($640 million) in investment funding from the Japanese government.
Aiming to develop and manufacture the world’s most advanced logic semiconductors, Rapidus was established in 2022 with the backing of eight major Japanese companies, one of which being Toyota. This initial investment totalled ¥73 billion ($468 million).
In September 2023, Rapidus officially broke ground on its IIM-1 facility in Chitose on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It later opened an office at the site in 2024. Since then, it has made significant progress in the construction of the site, with prototyping of 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) transistors on 300mm wafers having begun earlier this year.
Rapidus has said it will release a process design kit (PDK) to early customers by Q1 2026, so they can start designing their own chips, and expects to begin mass production at the site in 2027.
Following its selection as Japan’s official business operator by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Rapidus is now preparing to raise funds from private investors and private financial institutions.
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It also plans to submit an application for investment of ¥100 billion ($640 million) by Japan’s Information-technology Promotion Agency, the policy implementation agency of METI.
Since it was established, Rapidus has received subsidies from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization under two separate funding projects.
“We are delighted that Rapidus has been selected as the official business operator and would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all Japanese government officials who supported us,” said Dr Atsuyoshi Koike, CEO of Rapidus. “Three years after our founding, we have been steadily progressing with our preparations to drive cutting-edge semiconductor operations in Japan.”
He added: “Along with the private funding we are currently working on, becoming Japan’s official business operator is a major step in securing the necessary funding for the planned start of mass production of 2nm logic semiconductors in 2027. We will strive to steadily achieve mass production and ultimately contribute to Japan’s growth strategy.”
Rapidus will be competing for market space with the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TMSC) and Samsung in Asia, both of which are currently attempting to reach mass production of 2nm chips.
How important are semiconductors to the automotive industry?
Semiconductors underpin almost every function in today’s vehicles, from powertrain management and battery control to infotainment, connectivity and advanced driver-assistance systems.
The semiconductor shortage in 2021 and recent disruption at chipmaker Nexperia have emphasised the cruciality of stable semiconductor supply to the future of vehicle manufacturing.
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Once mass production of 2nm process technology is achieved, these chips are expected to support the next generation of centralised vehicle compute platforms, enabling higher-throughput AI processing for autonomous-driving functions, real-time sensor fusion and advanced digital services.
Their higher performance and lower power consumption will allow OEMs to integrate more functionality onto fewer, more efficient system-on-chips, reducing complexity and improving thermal and energy management.
Although adoption in the automotive sector is likely to lag behind consumer electronics due to qualification and safety requirements, 2nm devices will ultimately play a critical role in enabling fully software-defined and highly automated vehicles.
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