Rapidus to receive $3.9bn in government subsidies
The Japanese government has pledged up to $3.9bn to help domestic chip maker Rapidus to better compete in the advanced semiconductor space.
This new move is part of Japan's resolve to restore its reputation and market position in global electronics – a market in which it has been eclipsed by Korea, the US and Taiwan.
Last year, reports said the government has assigned USD 13 billion to drive investment in its chip industry via a USD 59.8 billion bond sale. At the time, it was believed that around USD 4 billion would go into a fund to support the mass production of chips via projects such as those launched by Japan's homegrown chip venture Rapidus.
Now, this support has been confirmed. Japan previously agreed to provide subsidies worth around USD 1.5 billion to Rapidus. The new package will go towards work on advanced packaging at the firm's under-construction facility in the Hokkaido region.
Rapidus Corp is Japan's leading domestic manufacturer and is co-owned by Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, NTT, SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota. It is currently working towards producing advanced 2nm chips to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Samsung.
“The Rapidus project is extremely important as it concerns state-of-the-art semiconductors that can influence the competitiveness of Japan’s industry as a whole,” Japan’s Economy Ministry official Hidemichi Shimizu told reporters.
