Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike said the firm is in talks with Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and dozens of other possible customers to mass-produce advanced semiconductors by 2027. According to Koike, rising tensions between the US and China have made investors want to get chips from other companies.
In an interview, Koike said that a prototype chip line started operating partially on Tuesday at a plant in Hokkaido and will be fully operational within the month. In fact, Rapidus will be able to show data on the chips it has fabricated to customers by mid-July at the latest.
Rapidus to improve its manufacturing methods in order to beat TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) has the biggest part of the market when it comes to making advanced AI chips. This is because it sells wafers to many of the world’s biggest tech companies and chipmakers.
In addition, the company plays a critical role in the semiconductor supply chain by manufacturing cutting-edge chips for the most important companies in the world. That is Apple Inc and Nvidia.
According to reports, TSMC wants to make 2-nanometer products this year. This means Rapidus will be two years behind. But the company is confident that it can make up the time by improving its manufacturing methods.
The Japanese government wants to put $1.37 billion into Rapidus this year, starting in April. This is so that it can reach its goal of commercial production in 2027.
As AI technologies become more commonplace in people’s daily lives, the need for improved semiconductors that use less energy is expected to skyrocket. Also, Taiwan likes to play safe when it comes to the US and China.
TSMC announced plans to spend $100 billion to bring chip manufacturing to the US. This was done because President Trump threatened to put heavy tariffs on Southeast Asian semiconductor imports, which made TSMC invest.
Meanwhile, customers and governments in Taiwan are putting pressure on the country’s biggest chipmaker, TSMC, to expand its product lines because they are afraid China will invade the island. Last year, TSMC opened a new factory in southern Japan worth $8.6 billion. They are now building a second factory worth $20 billion to make even better chips.
On the other hand, Japan used to be the leader in the hardware industry. This time round, ensuring they have steady amounts of chips is now a business and national security issue. In the past few years, semiconductors, which run everything from cell phones to cars, have become a major trade issue.
From the 1980s to the early 1990s, Japan had half of the world’s computer market. Companies like NEC and Toshiba were the leaders. But it only has about 10% of the market now. It is still the leader in chip-making materials and tools, though.
In an interview with AFP last year Rapidus chief Tetsuro Higashi said that the project was the “last chance” to get the country’s semiconductor industry back on the world map. “Japan is more than a decade behind others. It will require enormous money just to catch up,” he said.
TSMC agrees to a manufacturing joint venture
According to reports, the two companies, Intel and TSMC, have decided to work together. As part of the deal, TSMC will own 20% of Intel’s foundry business. The rest of the 80% wasn’t said. However, TSMC is thought to have talked to fabless chip makers Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom about a possible joint-venture takeover.
Intel and TSMC have agreed to form a joint chipmaking venture
TSMC will take a 20% stake in the new company that plans to operate Intel's US facilities
Signs of life in a sea of red pic.twitter.com/wJ0DdBv93B
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 3, 2025
Reports say that the White House was very important in bringing about the deal. However, it’s not likely that a Trump government would agree to a deal that would make Intel fully owned by a foreign company.
Intel’s stock price went up from $20.94 earlier in the day to $22.43. This week, the company’s stock took a hit after its annual Vision event. The irony in the business world is that TSMC might soon own a piece of the foundry business it shut down.
Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
