Japanese chipmaker Rapidus to tie up with 17 firms

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus says it is teaming up with 17 domestic and foreign semiconductor design firms in a bid to accelerate development. The company is ramping up efforts to broaden its customer base ahead of planned mass production of a next-generation chip.

The Japanese partners in the venture include a group company of Toshiba, Dai Nippon Printing and Toppan. Participants from overseas include firms from the United States and India.

Rapidus says the collaboration is the first phase of a new framework it calls Rapidus CORE. The initiative brings together businesses and research facilities involved in designing and manufacturing chips. It comes amid a labor shortage in the advanced chip sector.

Rapidus is aiming to mass produce an advanced 2-nanometer chip in Hokkaido, northern Japan, in the latter half of the next fiscal year. The Japanese government has pledged support of around 3 trillion yen, or about 19 billion dollars.

Rapidus faces fierce competition for customers from rivals in Taiwan and South Korea.