Rapidus

What Rapidus does

Rapidus is a Tokyo-based chipmaker established on August 10, 2022 to develop and manufacture leading-edge logic semiconductors in Japan. It plans to operate as a foundry from its IIM-1 plant in Chitose, Hokkaido. A foundry makes chips designed by other companies.

Its first process targets the 2-nanometer (nm) generation of logic chips. It builds on IBM technology under a joint development partnership announced in December 2022. Rapidus says it processes each wafer individually instead of in batches so that it can collect more data and adjust faster. IEEE Spectrum noted this approach comes with reduced throughput.

Why it matters

IEEE Spectrum wrote in May 2025 that only three companies, TSMC, Intel and Samsung, could mass-produce the most advanced chips. It said Rapidus was trying to become the fourth. Japan's government backs the project out of national security concern over the country's dependence on overseas suppliers of leading-edge chips, according to the same report. At that point state subsidies totaled 1.72 trillion yen (about $12 billion). Rapidus estimated it would need some 5 trillion yen to reach mass production.

The report also set out doubts. A 2027 start could leave Rapidus about two years behind its rivals. Its eight founding shareholders had then invested only 7.3 billion yen. Atsushi Osanai, a Waseda University professor, told the magazine that Japanese private companies were waiting to see how the venture fared. When private investors put in far more in February 2026, Nikkei Asia wrote that the sum was larger than expected. It said Rapidus still had to prove its technology and win customers.

Recent developments

• Rapidus announced in July 2025 that prototyping of 2nm transistors had started at IIM-1. An ASML EUV lithography tool had been delivered in December 2024.
• On November 21, 2025, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) selected Rapidus as the operator for stable production of advanced chips. The company said it planned to apply for a 100 billion yen state investment.
• On February 27, 2026, it announced a completed 267.6 billion yen round. It said 100 billion yen came from the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA), an agency under METI's jurisdiction. It said 167.6 billion yen came from 32 companies including Canon, Fujitsu, NTT, SoftBank and Sony Group. Nikkei Asia reported that under the government's plans it would become the largest shareholder while holding only about 10% of voting rights. It said the government could lift that above 50% if Rapidus got into difficulty.
• In March 2026, Nikkei Asia reported that Canon had asked Rapidus to make prototype image-processing chips. It described this as the first time a major Japanese end user had become a prospective customer.
• A further 150 billion yen from the IPA, announced on June 5, 2026, lifted capital to 424.95 billion yen.
• On October 5, 2026, Rapidus announced Rapidus CORE, a partner framework whose first group is 17 design companies, including Cadence and Synopsys. Rapidus says they will offer design resources and expertise to its customers.

What to watch

Rapidus has repeatedly stated a 2027 target for mass production. In April 2026 it specified the second half of fiscal year 2027. Nikkei Asia described Canon only as a prospective customer.

Nikkei Asia reported in August 2026, citing its own reporting, that METI planned to request another 150 billion yen for Rapidus in the fiscal 2027 budget. It said this was to encourage lending by major banks. In July 2026 Rapidus cautioned that a per-wafer price estimate reported from remarks by its chief executive did not necessarily reflect actual selling prices.