Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently visited Hokkaido, where Japanese startup Rapidus is building up its advanced 2nm-capable fab. Kishida pledged to secure state-backed funding for the project through new legislation, according to a report from Nikkei. The Japanese government sees the plant as crucially important for the country, as it will enable Japan to make chips on a leading-edge node.
Rapidus intends to build an advanced fab in Hokkaido that will offer a 2nm-class process technology and advanced packaging by 2027. That first phase is expected to cost ¥5 trillion ($32 billion). The second phase of the fab, set to come online after 2027, will be able to produce chips on a 1.4-nm-class process technology. So far the government has sanctioned subsidies of up to ¥920 billion for Rapidus and the company has secured ¥7.3 billion from investors, which include major corporations such as Toyota and Sony.
