State-backed Japanese chip venture Rapidus Corp. and U.S. start-up Tenstorrent Holdings Inc. said Tuesday they will jointly produce next-generation artificial intelligence chips.
The two companies will work on chips for powering AI in a variety of products from robots to automobiles, with Rapidus taking on the task of producing central processing units and accelerator chips that can increase computing performance and significantly curb electricity consumption compared to currently available chips, they said.
The Japanese company and the U.S. chip designer are aiming to mass produce their jointly developed chips based on a 2-nanometer process technology from 2028, they said.
Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike said at a press conference that he is focusing the company on development speed and that such a business model should appeal to many potential customers.
"Speed is our utmost priority. Tenstorrent has superb design. Together, we can create synergy," Koike said.
Tenstorrent CEO Jim Keller said at the press conference, "We will go into production as soon as Rapidus is ready."
The two companies announced in November that they would tie up over mass production of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence without revealing details.
Rapidus was formed in 2022 with investment from eight major Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Group Corp. The company plans to mass produce 2-nanometer chips in 2027.
The AI chip deal with Tenstorrent is the first production contract publicly announced by Rapidus.
