Japan’s state-backed chip venture Rapidus began test production of next-generation chips on Tuesday, an early but key step in the country’s efforts to make its own artificial intelligence components.
The 2-year-old company is gearing up to mass produce semiconductors using 2-nanometer processes in 2027, which on paper would match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in terms of chipmaking prowess. Japan has to date earmarked ¥1.72 trillion ($11.5 billion) to support the startup, part of a yearslong push to regain some of the tech leadership it’s ceded to the U.S., Taiwan and South Korea.
“It was extraordinarily difficult to develop 2 nm technology and the knowhow for mass production,” and more experimentation lies ahead, Chief Executive Officer Atsuyoshi Koike, who is 72, said at a news conference. “We will take things step by step to lower error rates and secure customer trust.”
Rapidus conducted extreme ultraviolet lithography using ASML Holding NV equipment for the first time on Tuesday, Koike said. The first batch of test chips will likely emerge in July, and the company remains on schedule to mass produce advanced chips at its factory in Hokkaido, he said.
The attempt to create a bleeding-edge contract chipmaker from scratch has won over the country’s policymakers as fears deepen about technological reliance on Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
Despite the billions of dollars in government support, a 2027 commercial launch of 2 nm production lines is a long shot, according to Iwai Cosmo Securities analyst Kazuyoshi Saito. To succeed, Rapidus will need to master ASML’s latest machines, tools that most of its engineers are learning to use for the first time.
“Jumping straight into making state-of-the-art semiconductors is almost unrealistic,” he said.