The government will provide chipmaker Rapidus Corp. an additional subsidy of 260 billion yen ($1.9 billion) for a new factory, to be built in Hokkaido, northern Japan, in an effort to boost domestic chip production, the country's industry minister said Tuesday.
The government had already announced a subsidy of 70 billion yen to the chipmaker for development purposes, bringing the total amount of government support for Rapidus to 330 billion yen. Rapidus was established through an initial 7.3 billion-yen investment by Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Group Corp. and six other major Japanese companies last year.
Rapidus plans to set up a trial production line in 2025 and begin mass-producing advanced semiconductors by 2027 in partnership with U.S. tech giant IBM Corp.
"We would like to continue promoting the next-generation chip project in cooperation with relevant parties in the country and abroad," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told at a press conference.
The state-of-the-art, 2-nanometer chips, set to be produced at a new factory near New Chitose Airport are thought to be indispensable for next-generation industries, such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.
The state-backed company selected Hokkaido for the project because of the ample water supply and availability of renewable energy, as the advanced semiconductor microchips need to be rinsed with ultrapure water.
