Japanese Rapidus: "No Factors Delaying 2027 2nm Semiconductor Mass Production Start"

Atsuyoshi Koike, president of Japanese semiconductor company Rapidus, stated that there is "no factor causing delay at the current stage" regarding the goal of starting mass production of cutting-edge 2-nanometer (nm, one billionth of a meter) semiconductors in 2027.

Atsuyoshi Koike, President of Rapidus. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 8th (local time), President Koike said in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun about the scheduled start of the trial production line next month, "The delivery of manufacturing equipment is going smoothly, and we can start as planned."

Rapidus is a company established in 2022 under the leadership of the Japanese government. It has set up a factory in Chitose City, Hokkaido, and plans to begin production of 2-nanometer prototype semiconductors, which are state-of-the-art, next month.

It is estimated that a total funding of 5 trillion yen (approximately 49 trillion KRW) is required until the mass production of Rapidus's 2-nanometer products. The Japanese government has provided nearly 1 trillion yen in support so far and plans to continue support by investing about 100 billion yen this year.

Regarding future funding, President Koike said, "We want to raise funds from private companies at the same level as the government's investment," adding, "There has been a positive response." Eight major Japanese companies, including Toyota, Kioxia, Sony, NTT, SoftBank, NEC, Denso, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, are shareholders in Rapidus. However, their combined investment amounts to only 7.3 billion yen (approximately 716 billion KRW).

President Koike also explained that bank loans are being considered. Regarding workforce acquisition, he said, "Currently about 700 people," adding, "Among them, about 300 are factory personnel, and we aim to increase this to about 1,000 by the start of mass production." He also emphasized, "Members who developed mass production technology at IBM in the U.S., a technical partner, are returning," and "Although it is a difficult technology, we will gather the necessary data step by step and produce results."

Regarding the choice of Hokkaido as the factory site, President Koike said, "Because of the scalability to build additional factories," and added, "If mass production of products is successful, we will also consider constructing a new factory to produce even higher-performance semiconductors."