Key facts
- Rapidus aims to begin 2-nanometer chip production in the second half of the next fiscal year.
- The company is partnering with 17 firms, including Synopsys and Infosys, to help customers design chips.
- Japan has invested $15 billion in the Rapidus venture.
- Rapidus is working with IBM on pilot operations for its chip factory.
- Japan's global semiconductor market share has fallen to less than 10% from about 50% in the 1980s.
Japan's Rapidus, a venture backed by $15 billion in state funding, is forging partnerships with chip design firms, including U.S.-based Synopsys and India's Infosys, as it seeks to secure customers for its advanced 2-nanometer chip factory. The success of this ambitious project is seen as crucial for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's plan to revitalize Japan's semiconductor industry.
Rapidus aims to begin contract chip production in the second half of the next fiscal year. However, the venture faces significant technological hurdles and intense competition from established players like Taiwan's TSMC, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, and Intel. Analysts like Nori Chiou at White Oak Capital view the recent partnership announcements as incremental progress, but emphasize that securing actual customers remains the primary challenge.
Despite these challenges, Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike expressed confidence in sufficient market demand for an additional leading-edge manufacturer. Akira Minamikawa, an analyst at Omdia, suggested that while TSMC will likely maintain market dominance, there is a segment of customers who may not secure capacity from TSMC and could turn to Rapidus for supply chain diversification. Such a presence could also benefit Japan's domestic materials and equipment suppliers.
Japan's semiconductor market share has significantly declined from its peak in the 1980s. Rapidus is working with IBM on pilot operations, but experts like Kazuyoshi Saito of IwaiCosmo Securities caution that achieving stable, high yields in chip manufacturing is extremely difficult, a challenge even major players like Samsung have faced. The company is targeting an initial public offering around the financial year ending March 2032, with its long-term success or failure not expected to be clear for another decade.