Rapidus

Japan was the king of semiconductors in the 80s. Rapidus is its only hope to compete in this market again

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In the 1980s, Japan did not compete in semiconductors and technology. It was devastating. In 1988, Japanese companies controlled more than half of the world semiconductor market, and NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi and Fujitsu were above giants of the time in the US such as Motorola, Texas Instruments or Intel. That golden era ended with the hyperspecialization that emerged both in South Korea and China and (especially) in Taiwan, but now Japan wants to make a splash again. what has happened. A year ago the technology industry was surprised by the birth of Rapidus Corporationa company born from the alliance of several Japanese giants (Sony, Toyota, SoftBank) with the aim of returning to Japan part of its relevance in the field of semiconductors. The initial plan was very ambitious: they wanted to jump directly to 2 nm by 2027. As we will see later, they have had to delay that forecast, but what has also changed (a lot) is the structure of the company. Japan like main investor. The Japanese government has decided to make Rapidus a centerpiece of national security, and is taking unprecedented control of the company. He will become the largest shareholder, although initially he will only exercise 10% of the voting rights to leave management in private hands. Of course: the State reserves the right to raise that participation above 50% if the company is experiencing difficulties. Total capital has skyrocketed to 420 billion yen ($2.7 billion), when in 2022 the investment did not exceed 50 million. The golden action. The Japanese executive has made use of a legal mechanism by acquiring the so-called “golden shares” with which he can exercise his veto in critical decisions such as changes in management or mergers. The objective is to shield Rapidus against foreign capital acquisitions and guarantee the sovereignty of the project. Which is exactly the same thing we are seeing around the world, of course: each country wants to have its own apples in its basket. Investors who are also clients. Financial support comes from the Japanese government, but also from some large Japanese business groups such as the aforementioned Sony and Toyota or Denso. In total, 32 companies have invested 167.6 billion yen (1.075 billion dollars) and will contribute to this commitment by also being customers of the silicon that Rapidus can produce. They remain just as ambitious… or more. Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike has adjusted the development plans for his chips, and has delayed the arrival of mass production to March 2028. That’s bad news, but not so much when we discover that the company has plans to go beyond 2nm and is preparing to be able to make 1.4nm chips and even 1 nm. Fast as gunpowder. One of the factors that want to differentiate Rapidus is its promise of rapid delivery of semiconductors. The project aims to automate both the manufacturing, packaging and testing of the chips. These last two are processes with great manual intervention, but at Rapidus they believe they have the key to making them much more autonomous. If they succeed, they could reduce the cycle time of semiconductors by 66% and thus beat even giants like TSMC by the way. Japan turns to chips. Japan’s aspiration is striking, and its Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, seems to be clear that the commitment to this segment must be notable. In fact, Japan is investing a proportion of its GDP (0.71%) in semiconductors much higher than that of the US (0.21%) or Germany (0.41%). Challenges. The strategy, of course, has its critics. Takero Doi, professor at Keio University, point “There are many cases in which public-private investment has led to systems that lacked accountability. It is important to clarify who will lead the project, the private sector or the government.” Plan B. Although the plan with Rapidus is ambitious, the country is actually playing both sides. While boosting its own business, the government has made commitments with TSMC to upgrade its manufacturing plants in Japan. This makes it have a hybrid ecosystem: it attracts the experience and knowledge of the semiconductor giant while on the other hand trying to create a national alternative. Image | Xataka with Freepik In Xataka | Panasonic was the bastion of 100% Japanese TVs after Sony’s step back. Now it has surrendered to China

In just a few days Rapidus will begin operating a pilot line of 2 Nm chips

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Rapidus is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, SoftBankKioxia, Denso, Nippon Telegraph and Mufg Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. The relevance of this organization, in any case, lies in the role entrusted to him by the government currently led by Shigeru ishiba. And this is the company with which Japan aspires to recover competitiveness in the semiconductor manufacturing industry that had three decades ago. Its economy is at stake. In fact, this Asian country began to deploy its strategy to reinforce its integrated circuit industry more than two years ago, so the first results begin to see the light. Rapidus is ready to start the manufacturing tests of avant -garde chips Japan is currently investing more money in its sector of integrated circuits than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom. Not in terms of net value, but its effort is greater if we weigh the investment of these countries on their gross domestic product (GDP). The US dedicates 0.21% of its GDP to its semiconductor industry, and Germany 0.41%. France, according to Nikkei Asia0.2%, and, finally, the United Kingdom 0.04%. The difference is very significant and puts on the table the effort that Japan is making with 0.71% of its GDP. Private investment has a very important role in the economic support of Rapidus Today several solvent media, such as Nikkei Asia either BloombergThey have collected that the Shigeru Ihiba administration is preparing an injection of 5.4 billion dollars specifically for Rapidus. And, as we have seen in the first lines of this article, Private investment It has a very important role in the economic support of this company. In any case, the most interesting is what Rapidus already has. And it is that the state -of -the -art semiconductor production plant that has taken to point in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), will begin in April the wafering processing tests in a pilot line. The directive’s directive plan is to start large -scale production of 2 Nm semiconductor In 2027. If he succeeds, this company will get recorded in a record time to TSMC, Intel and Samsung, which a priori will be its main short -term competitors. In addition, what is causing the new Rapidus factory to monopol It will be completely automated. Its purpose is to resort to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to tune an automated production line that will be specialized in the manufacture of 2 nm chips for AI applications. Its plan consists, in short, to produce integrated circuits faster, with a lower and more quality cost. More information | Nikkei Asia | Bloomberg In Xataka | Japan takes the initiative with nuclear fusion and sets an extremely ambitious date: the 2030s In Xataka | Japan has taken the carrier to dominate the chips industry. Prepare a 325,000 million dollar plan

Japan’s only hope to dominate the chips industry is an unknown: Rapidus

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The Taiwanese company TSMC and South Korean Samsung are the two semiconductor manufacturers that have the most advanced integration technologies in production. In fact, both manufacture Integrated 3 Nm circuits Since 2022. However, for many months The performance by wafer They obtained was very improvable, which transformed their nodes of 3 Nm into a bottleneck that perceptibly increased the cost of these chips. Three years later the 3 Nm nodes of these two companies are much finer. His performance by wafer has increased perceptibly and presumably is already exceeding 70% established by the semiconductor industry as a reference. Currently these two companies are in a relatively comfortable position, but there is a company that seems to be prepared to disturb them. To them already intel. His name is Rapidus corporation, he is Japanese and plans to manufacture 2 Nm semiconductors with an unpublished technology and unbeatable mate performance. Rapidus is the spearhead of Japan In 1988 NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Matsushita and other Japanese companies hoarded nothing less than 50% of the chips industry. However, today none of these companies is positioned among the leaders of a sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Dutch, South Korean and German companies. Whatever the government of Japan is determined to recover its ancient glory. The administration led by Shigeru ishiba claims the preeminent position he had in the semiconductor industry three decades ago. Its economy is at stake. But it has a plan. And it is already underway. In fact, he began to display his strategy to reinforce his integrated circuit industry more than two years ago, so the first results begin to see the light. Japan is currently investing more money in its integrated circuits sector than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom Japan is currently investing more money in its sector of integrated circuits than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom. Not in terms of net value, but its effort is greater if we weigh the investment of these countries on their gross domestic product (GDP). The US dedicates 0.21% of its GDP to its semiconductor industry, and Germany 0.41%. France, according to Nikkei Asia0.2%, and, finally, the United Kingdom 0.04%. The difference is very significant and puts on the table the effort that Japan is making with 0.71% of its GDP. As expected, Japanese companies have a leading role in the reconstruction plan of the Japanese chips industry. Tokyo Electron, Canon and Nikon are the main designers and manufacturers of integrated circuit production equipment. AND JSR Corporation leads the production of photorestoning materials. Curiously, it is necessary to pour these fluids on silicon wafers with the purpose of preparing them for the transfer of the geometric pattern that delimits the distribution of transistors, connections and other elements that make up an integrated circuit. The surprising thing is that, in reality, none of the companies I just mentioned is the best trick of Japan to catapult the competitiveness of its semiconductor industry. Not even JSR, which, as we have just seen, leads the manufacture of photorers. The company that is intended for compete from you to you With TSMC, Intel or Samsung in the chip production market is Rapidus corporation. In fact, it has been expressly created to replace Japan at the forefront of integrated circuits. This company’s website explains the background that has triggered its constitution and its purposes in The following six “commandments”: The importance of semiconductors has increased, and, at the same time, the growing concern for the decline of the chips industry in Japan has done so. The role of semiconductors in economic security has become an urgent matter. Many integrated circuit factories are located in Taiwan and Continental China. Given the increase in the use of semiconductors in cars and artificial intelligence, as well as the added value of the chips in the devices that will arrive during the next decade, it is necessary to guarantee manufacturing in Japan. After the summit between Japan and the US, both countries are developing next -generation semiconductors. It is necessary to establish 3D LSI technology (Large Scale Integration o large -scale integration) next -generation and Nanosheet Gaa (Gate-alall-around) in collaboration with the US and Europe, as well as build a cooperation framework with the manufacturers of materials and equipment in Japan and abroad. Our purpose is to establish an integrated circuit factory of 2 Nm avant -garde in Japan. The first four precepts recognize to what extent Japan has lost the relevance that had decades ago in the chips industry and support the need for rebuild a sector which currently has a strategic role. And the last two slogans outline the objective of Rapidus in the short and medium term, which goes through competing in The incipient market of 2 nm semiconductors in which this year TSMC, Intel and Samsung will enter. Rapidus is making a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan in which it plans to produce 2 Nm chips Rapidus is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, Softbank, Kioxia, dense , Nippon Telegraph and MUFG Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. Rapidus is currently putting a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), in which it plans to produce semiconductors of 2 Nm. According to Nikkei Asia The first prototypes of these chips They will be ready in April 2025but large -scale manufacturing will not arrive at best until 2027. So far there is nothing really surprising because presumably at that time TSMC, Samsung and Intel will already be manufacturing integrated circuits with comparable lithographs. Rapidus’s competitiveness … Read more

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