Japan's trade minister has pledged the government will hike its financial support for chipmaker Rapidus as it works to develop cutting-edge semiconductors, arguing domestic production of such components is essential for the country to excel in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.
"I have high hopes that Rapidus can mass produce 2-nanometer chips and beyond in Japan, and the government is ready to continue and beef up financial support to the company as it will need to spend trillions of yen to make that happen,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister of economy, trade and industry, said in an interview.
Tetsuro Higashi, former chairman of Tokyo Electron, and Atsuyoshi Koike, former president of Western Digital, established Tokyo-based Rapidus last year with the goal of making the cutting-edge, 2-nanometer chips in Japan by 2025. The duo drew investment from companies including Toyota Motor, Sony Group and NTT.