The head of Rapidus, a semiconductor consortium backed by the Japanese government that was established to leapfrog the world's leading makers of chips, estimates that the cost of its 2nm chips will be a tenfold increase compared to the standard chips made by other Japanese companies today. That makes sense because most chips made in Japan are on older mature nodes that are sold at far less expensive pricing than newer nodes, like 7nm and smaller. Yet, there are companies that are willing to pay such prices when the company expects to start 2nm production in 2027.
2nm chips from Rapidus will be vital for Japan, as some of them will be used for high-performance computing applications that are crucial for national security, whereas others will be used in innovative civilian applications like autonomous vehicles and robotics, Atsuyoshi Koike, chief executive of Rapidus, told Nikkei and TokyoKeizai (according to DigiTimes).
