Rapidus

ラピダス / ラピダス株式会社

A Japanese state-backed start-up foundry developing a 2 nanometer logic process and advanced packaging to manufacture high-performance chips.

Private company
Profile as of September 14, 2026
Not ranked: no published revenue or market capitalisation
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Rapidus is Japan's strategic attempt to restore domestic leading-edge logic manufacturing. It has reached meaningful prototype and financing milestones but lacks disclosed volume customers, commercial revenue, and demonstrated high-volume yield, forcing it to compete against established foundries with mature ecosystems.

Key figures

Revenue: Not disclosed
Revenue growth: Not disclosed
Operating margin: Not disclosed
Net income: Not disclosed
R&D spend: Not disclosed
Capital expenditure: Not disclosed
Capital including legal surplus As of 2026-06-05: 424.95 billion yen
Reported government R&D assistance As of April 2026: 2.354 trillion yen
Target initial production Target: 6,000 wafer starts per month

Overview

Rapidus was established in 2022 by a consortium of eight major Japanese corporations to build a domestic leading-edge foundry. It operates the IIM-1 fab in Chitose, Hokkaido, where it targets mass production of a 2 nanometer gate-all-around logic process by 2027.

The company is a pure-play foundry, meaning it manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than selling its own branded processors. Its strategy relies on the Rapid and Unified Manufacturing Service model, which integrates wafer processing and advanced chiplet packaging to reduce cycle times. Rapidus is heavily supported by the Japanese government through the Information-technology Promotion Agency and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

As a development-stage manufacturer, Rapidus has not yet reported commercial revenue or volume production. Its success depends on converting state backing and technology partnerships into a commercially viable alternative to incumbent foundries.

The AI angle

Rapidus enables AI by providing the advanced manufacturing capacity required for high-performance and energy-efficient AI chips. Its 2 nanometer platform is designed to support AI accelerators, CPUs, networking silicon, and custom application-specific integrated circuits.

The company does not sell its own AI accelerators or software. Instead, it offers a process design kit and AI-assisted design tools to help customers build their own AI hardware. It is also collaborating with Tenstorrent and Japan's AI Chip Design Center on a 2 nanometer edge-AI accelerator project. Because Rapidus is pre-revenue, its AI exposure is entirely prospective, depending on future customer adoption rather than existing commercial shipments.

Advanced packaging is a critical component of its AI strategy. Rapidus is working with IBM to develop mass-production technology for chiplet packages, which are essential for modern AI accelerators that combine large logic dies with high-bandwidth memory. By offering both 2 nanometer wafer processing and advanced packaging, Rapidus aims to capture value from the growing demand for AI infrastructure.

Technology and moat

Rapidus bases its technology on a 2 nanometer gate-all-around transistor platform originally developed by IBM. It combines this with research from imec and electronic-design-automation partnerships with Cadence and Siemens to build a complete manufacturing ecosystem.

The company's defensibility will depend on its ability to execute. Replicating its planned capabilities requires extreme-ultraviolet lithography integration, defect reduction, yield ramping, and advanced chiplet packaging. While Rapidus has demonstrated prototype 2 nanometer transistors, it must still prove it can achieve commercial yields and economically viable fab utilization against established incumbents like TSMC and Samsung Foundry.

Its primary differentiation is the promise of short-turnaround manufacturing and a localized Japanese supply chain. However, because it lacks the decades of accumulated process learning and mature design ecosystems of its competitors, Rapidus must rely heavily on its technology partners to accelerate its development timeline.

Five-pillar assessment

Scale and market position: A pre-revenue start-up foundry targeting 2 nanometer mass production by 2027, currently lacking the installed capacity and customer base of established incumbents.
Technology and R&D: Developing a 2 nanometer gate-all-around process and advanced chiplet packaging based on IBM technology, with prototype transistors demonstrated but commercial yields unproven.
Supply-chain centrality: Backed by major Japanese corporations and the Japanese government, with critical technology partnerships with IBM, imec, Cadence, and Siemens.
Financial momentum: Advancing rapidly through pilot-line construction and prototype milestones, supported by substantial state funding, but yet to demonstrate commercial revenue or volume customer commitments.
Governance and quality: A privately held, state-influenced entity with professional management, though its full ownership structure and operating financials remain undisclosed.

Supply chain and relationships

Rapidus depends on IBM for its foundational 2 nanometer technology and chiplet packaging collaboration. It relies on imec for advanced research and on Cadence and Siemens for electronic-design-automation tools and process design kits. Its manufacturing operations require extreme-ultraviolet lithography equipment, specialty materials, and stable power.

On the customer side, Rapidus has not publicly disclosed named commercial volume customers or revenue concentration. Its success will depend on attracting chip designers away from established foundries, a process that requires long qualification and process-porting cycles. The company plans to release its 2 nanometer process design kit to advance customers in early 2026, which will be a critical test of its ability to build a robust customer ecosystem.

Partners

IBMJointly develop and transfer 2 nanometer technology
imecAdvanced semiconductor research collaboration
Cadence Design SystemsAI-driven reference-design-flow and IP collaboration
Siemens Digital Industries SoftwareDevelop a Calibre-based process design kit
TenstorrentJointly develop a 2 nanometer edge-AI accelerator

Competitors

TSMCInferredCompetes for leading-edge foundry customers
Samsung FoundryInferredCompetes for GAA process customers
Intel FoundryInferredCompetes for leading-edge foundry customers

Geopolitics and risk

Rapidus is a central pillar of Japan's industrial policy to secure domestic semiconductor supply chains. It receives substantial state funding, including more than 2 trillion yen in reported government R&D assistance and direct equity investments from state-linked agencies.

The company faces high geographic concentration risk because its leading-edge production is entirely located at the IIM-1 fab in Hokkaido. It is also exposed to international export controls. Because it relies on imported extreme-ultraviolet equipment, overseas technology partnerships, and foreign software, any changes in Japanese, United States, or Dutch export policies could disrupt its manufacturing ramp. Its strategic importance means it operates at the intersection of industrial policy and sensitive technology controls.

Risk matrix
Risk	Severity	Why it matters
Production-ramp risk	High	Targets 2 nanometer mass production in 2027 with little time to stabilize yield.
Customer-commitment risk	High	Named volume customers and long-term wafer agreements are not disclosed.
Single-site concentration	High	Leading-edge production is concentrated at the IIM-1 fab in Hokkaido.
Dependence on foreign technology	High	Relies on IBM technology, imec research, and imported EUV capability.
Export-control exposure	High	Advanced-node fabrication requires equipment governed by multiple export-control regimes.
Incumbent scale competition	High	Competes against established foundries with mature ecosystems and larger capital bases.
State-funding and policy risk	Medium	A policy change or funding delay could alter the manufacturing timetable.
Demand-cycle risk	Medium	Exposed to semiconductor-cycle conditions when capacity becomes commercially available.

Governance and ownership

Rapidus is a privately held company funded by a mix of public and private investors. Its founding consortium includes major Japanese corporations like Toyota Motor, Sony Group, and NTT, while the state-linked Information-technology Promotion Agency holds a significant equity stake.

The company is led by professional semiconductor executives, including Chairman Tetsuro Higashi and CEO Atsuyoshi Koike. It operates under Japanese corporate law and is subject to public-program conditions tied to its government funding. Rapidus does not publicly disclose a complete capitalization table, voting rights, or a controlling shareholder, reflecting its status as an unlisted, state-influenced entity.

What to watch

Whether Rapidus discloses customer tape-outs or long-term wafer agreements before its planned 2027 commercial ramp.
Whether IIM-1 achieves disclosed 2 nanometer yield and process-design-kit qualification milestones during 2026 and 2027.
Whether the planned initial output progresses toward the reported target of about 25,000 wafer starts per month.
Whether technology partnerships lead to publicly identified production customers.
Whether Japan's government funding continues to translate into commercial manufacturing rather than remaining R&D support.
Whether the company discloses a fuller ownership structure and financial statements as investment grows.

Recent developments

June 2026Announced a further 150 billion yen capital increase from IPA.
February 2026Announced a 267.6 billion yen funding round from IPA and 32 private companies.
December 2025Announced AI design tools under the Raads initiative.
July 2025Announced prototype 2 nanometer GAA transistors at the IIM-1 fab.
June 2025Announced collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software to develop a Calibre-based process design kit.
April 2025NEDO approved Rapidus's fiscal 2025 plan and budget for 2 nanometer semiconductor integration.

Coverage on AsiaAI.FYI

Siemens’ Fuse EDA AI Agent: Japan’s Autonomous Verification Bet to Save the Rapidus 2nm Timeline September 8, 2026
SK hynix’s Indiana HBM Packaging Plant: The 2029 Timeline for U.S. Supply Chains August 28, 2026
Rapidus’s 2nm Speed Strategy: Why Shinkansen Pricing Is the New Bet for AI Chip Startups August 28, 2026
$837B Memory Market Shift: Japan’s Chip Equipment Giants Pivot to AI Bandwidth August 26, 2026
YMTC Parent’s $4.9B IPO: China’s New Strategy to Fund AI Memory Under U.S. Sanctions August 22, 2026
Japan’s ¥150B Rapidus Funding: The Push to Unlock Commercial Bank Lending for 2nm Chips August 22, 2026

Guides that cover Rapidus

About this profile

Compiled with AI-assisted research from company filings, market data, and published reporting as of September 14, 2026, then reviewed by AsiaAI.FYI. Figures marked Estimate are not company-reported. Check primary filings before relying on any number.

Confidence: B. Identity, leadership, strategic partnerships, and planned production timing are supported by company disclosures, but operating financials, headcount, customer commitments, and valuation remain undisclosed.

Main sources: Rapidus corporate disclosures; Board notices; Funding announcements; IBM corporate disclosures; Reuters reporting; Semiconductor trade press.

All 46 sources

Position in the AI stack

The manufacturing layer for advanced-node logic devices, including prospective AI accelerators, edge processors, and custom silicon.

Legal name: Rapidus Corporation
Headquarters: Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 2022
Founders: Denso
Kioxia
MUFG Bank
NEC
NTT
SoftBank
Sony Group
Toyota Motor
Leadership: Tetsuro Higashi / 東哲郎, Director and Chairman of the Board
Atsuyoshi Koike / 小池淳義, Representative Director, President and CEO
Ownership: Private company
Business: 2 nanometer GAA logic foundry and advanced chiplet packaging
Sector: Foundry & Chip Manufacturing
Website: rapidus.inc/en