Japan to invest an additional 150 billion yen in Rapidus

The Japanese government is planning an additional 150 billion yen investment in Rapidus, a state-backed semiconductor manufacturer, to support its goal of mass-producing 2nm chips by the second half of fiscal year 2027. This proposed funding, via the Information-Technology Promotion Agency (IPA) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, would bring the government's total direct equity investment in the company to 400 billion yen.

When combining direct equity investments with research and development subsidies, total government assistance to Rapidus is projected to reach approximately 3 trillion yen by the end of fiscal year 2027. The company is developing advanced manufacturing operations in Chitose, Hokkaido, focusing on 2nm logic chips, chiplets, and advanced packaging technologies.

To meet its total estimated funding requirement of 5 trillion yen, Rapidus is seeking approximately 2 trillion yen in private sector financing, with major Japanese banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ considering significant loans. The company has already secured 167.6 billion yen from private investors, including Sony Group, SoftBank, NTT, Fujitsu, and Canon. Rapidus aims to achieve profitability around fiscal year 2030 and targets an IPO by fiscal year 2031.