A Japanese semiconductor manufacturer founded in 2022 to mass-produce leading-edge logic chips at the 2 nm generation. It has a fab in Chitose, Hokkaido, and plans to start volume production in 2027 as a foundry that manufactures chips designed by other companies.
Japanese name: ラピダス(Rapidus)
Rapidus appears in 1 practice question across 1 topic, including Semiconductor industry and market.
Chip terms in the news · In the news: April 2025 – October 2026
Rapidus is a semiconductor manufacturer that aims to mass-produce leading-edge 2 nm-generation logic chips in Japan. It began prototyping at its fab in Chitose, Hokkaido, in 2025 and plans to start volume production in 2027.
As a national project to build a volume fab for leading-edge logic chips in Japan, its fab progress, fundraising and customer wins are reported frequently.
Rapidus was founded in August 2022 with the aim of becoming a foundry that manufactures leading-edge logic chips under contract. Its goal is to bring up domestic Japanese production of logic chips using nanosheet GAA transistors, based on 2 nm-generation technology developed by IBM in the United States. In December 2022 it entered a strategic partnership with IBM, and it also works with the Belgian research institute imec. Its research and development receives government support as a project of NEDO (the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization).
The fab is IIM-1 in Chitose, Hokkaido, where construction began in September 2023. Delivery of EUV lithography tools began in December 2024, and the pilot line started operating in April 2025. Alongside the front-end fab, the company runs a back-end R&D site in the same city, and in April 2026 it opened Rapidus Chiplet Solutions, which handles the design and manufacture of chiplets and packages.
Rapidus has said it will run every front-end step as single-wafer processing, handling one wafer at a time. Compared with batch processing, which treats many wafers together, this makes it easier to collect data on each wafer and adjust conditions quickly. The company calls its business model of linking design, front-end and back-end processing in a short time RUMS (Rapid and Unified Manufacturing Service), and aims to set itself apart from larger established foundries through a short turnaround time (TAT).
In July 2025 the company announced that 2 nm-generation GAA transistors prototyped at IIM-1 had been confirmed to work electrically. Volume production is scheduled to begin in 2027. To succeed as a foundry it needs more than transistor performance: a PDK (process design kit) that customers design with, partnerships with design-support companies and stable yields are all essential. In October 2026 it announced Rapidus CORE, a framework for working with design companies and other partners.
Fabs also widely use batch processing, which treats many wafers together in steps such as thermal treatment and cleaning. Rapidus runs its entire front end as single-wafer processing, one wafer at a time, and promotes a business model (RUMS) that links design, front-end and back-end processing in a short time, aiming to make a short manufacturing turnaround time (TAT) its strength. The industry's division of labour between foundries, fabless companies and IDMs is explained on the foundry glossary page.
Answer: B. Rapidus
Rapidus was founded in 2022 with investment from eight major Japanese companies, including Toyota and Sony Group, and large-scale government support, and is developing 2 nm logic in collaboration with IBM and others. It built a fab in Chitose, Hokkaido, started a pilot line in 2025, and aims to begin volume production around 2027. Kioxia is a leading NAND flash maker and Renesas a leading microcontroller maker.
It is a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer founded in 2022 that aims to be a foundry making 2 nm-generation logic chips designed by other companies. Its fab is in Chitose, Hokkaido, and it plans to start volume production in 2027.
The company has said it plans to start volume production in 2027. It started its pilot line in April 2025 and announced in July 2025 that it had confirmed its 2 nm-generation GAA transistors work.
Both are generations that use nanosheet GAA transistors. Rapidus builds on IBM's technology and highlights running the entire front end as single-wafer processing to shorten the manufacturing turnaround time (TAT).
Rapidus was founded in 2022 with investment from eight major Japanese companies, including Toyota and Sony Group, and large-scale government support, and is developing 2 nm logic in collaboration with IBM and others.
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GAA (gate-all-around) Nanosheet EUV lithography Chiplet Microcontroller ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) Dennard scaling Discrete semiconductor Fabless Foundry