Japan’s ¥150B Rapidus Funding: The Push to Unlock Commercial Bank Lending for 2nm Chips
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is seeking 150 billion yen ($944 million) in the fiscal 2027 budget for additional capital investment in the state-backed chipmaker Rapidus. This
AsiaAI Publisher
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August 22, 2026 ·
2 min read · Issue #73
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This story ran in Issue #73, alongside two other stories.
Semiconductors & Hardware
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is seeking 150 billion yen ($944 million) in the fiscal 2027 budget for additional capital investment in the state-backed chipmaker Rapidus. This capital injection is specifically designed to strengthen the company’s balance sheet, aiming to give major commercial banks the confidence to begin lending to the capital-intensive project. Rapidus is targeting the mass production of 2-nanometer logic chips by fiscal 2027.
The move represents a shift from direct government grants to equity-like capital injections, addressing a critical bottleneck where Japanese commercial megabanks have been reluctant to finance a pre-revenue startup attempting to leapfrog several generations of semiconductor manufacturing technology.
The move represents a shift from direct government grants to equity-like capital injections, addressing a critical bottleneck where Japanese commercial megabanks have been reluctant to finance a pre-revenue startup attempting to leapfrog several generations of semiconductor manufacturing technology.
