The Japanese government announces that it will provide 590 billion yen to Rapidus, which aims to build a cutting-edge LSI foundry of 2nm or less.

by Business Durham

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced that it has approved a 590 billion yen subsidy for Japanese semiconductor company Rapidus .

Japan OKs $3.9 Billion in Aid to Chip Venture Rapidus to Catch Up to TSMC - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-01/japan-okays-another-3-9-billion-in-aid-to-chip-venture-rapidus

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to provide 590 billion yen in support for Lapidus' new factory, totaling over 900 billion yen | NHK | Semiconductor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240402/k10014409811000.html

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito announced at a press conference on April 2, 2024 that he had decided to provide additional support to Rapidus. The press conference can be viewed in the video below.

2024/04/02 Minister Saito Press Conference - YouTube


Minister Saito commented, 'I believe that the next-generation semiconductors that Rapidus is working on are a key technology that will hold the key to the competitiveness of Japanese industry as a whole, including generative AI and autonomous driving. I recognize that this year will be a very important year for Rapidus. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will also work hard to ensure the success of the project.'

Rapidus is a semiconductor company founded in 2022. In response to 'growing concerns about the importance of semiconductors and the decline of the Japanese semiconductor industry,' Rapidus aims to establish next-generation 3D LSI, Nano Sheet GAA technology through Japan-US-Europe collaboration and realize a cutting-edge LSI foundry of 2nm or less in Japan. At the time of writing, we are working with Hokkaido and Chitose City to build a next-generation semiconductor fab in Hokkaido.

The Japanese government is actively supporting Rapidus, which aims to domestically produce next-generation semiconductors, announcing that it would provide 260 billion yen in subsidies in April 2023. At the time, then Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi stated, 'Rapidus is a symbolic project of cooperation between Japan, the United States and Europe in the semiconductor field, and we would like to support it with all our might,' indicating that he was open to considering further support.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry formally announces 260 billion yen subsidy for new semiconductor 'Rapidus' factory | NHK | Economic Security
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20230425/k10014048251000.html

With the addition of the 590 billion yen subsidy this time, the Japanese government will have provided Rapidus with a total of approximately 900 billion yen in subsidies.