Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has revealed a massive $65 billion plan to revitalize the chip industry in Japan, reports Reuters. The plan involves subsidies and other financial incentives for local chip production and is set to arrive by 2030. This is a part of Japan's longstanding efforts to rise among the ranks of the semiconductor world, hoping to revisit its glory days in the 1980s and 90s.
Based on the draft, the grants are primarily for Rapidus and other AI chip manufacturers - whose names have not been mentioned. Rapidus was formed in 2022 owing to a landmark agreement between the Japanese government and eight multinational firms - all in an attempt to produce bleeding-edge chips in Japan. The foundry plans to mass-produce 2nm chips by 2027 which sets the bar pretty high.
