The partnership that aims to make Japan more independent from previous companies in chip technology and manufacturing is official with IBM. The part in Japan is taken over by the Rapidus Corporation, a newly formed company, backed by the government and hope of Japan.
New Japanese company so far without Money
Kioxia, Sony, SoftBank, Denso, Toyota, NEC, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) and MUFG Bank set up Rapidus just a few weeks ago. The manufacturer's website has so far revealed little, only explaining the goals in the semiconductor industry that Japan has and which do not differ greatly from many others. So far, it has also been questionable how strong the efforts will really be, because so far only 7.3 billion yen have been guaranteed as start-up capital – one billion yen per company, the bank only paid 300 million yen.
However, not much can be done with the only around 50 million euros collected in this way, experts in Japan are already demanding at least ten to 15 times the amount or more to even find a start. The government's subsidy package of 70 billion yen (almost 500 million euros) is not enough either and pales in comparison to the US Chips Act and EU Chips Act with billions, according to the Japanese media. So today's announcement comes at the right time.
2nm GAA technology by IBM
There has been speculation about IBM as a technology partner for weeks, now it's official. IBM is supposed to help the company get a 2 nm process off the ground, but the website is not only talking about 2 nm for the year 2027, but also about Gate All Around (GAA) and nanosheets, those high-tech methods that will be important in the industry for the next decade. So Rapidus wants to join the ranks of the really big foundries, at least from a technological point of view.
Taking 2 nm as a starting point is no coincidence, because the technology is well known at IBM. A year and a half ago, IBM developed a first chip at the Albany research site that uses nanosheets as part of GAA technology and thus produces the said solution in 2 nm thanks to EUV exposure. As is well known, IBM is above all a semiconductor researcher and less a semiconductor mass producer, they have cooperations with many companies, including Samsung and Intel, which ultimately benefit from the achievements in joint research. Because a lot of know-how still comes from IBM, which makes them the patent world champion every year, even with 7 nm and 5 nm they were first.
To what extent the topic on The end leads to success remains to be seen and not just a question of time, but also of financial will. The Japanese government and Rapidus want something like the jack of all trades to play along in all areas from “Post 5G” to the cloud and Level 5 autonomous driving – but that is unlikely to work. The first steps will now decide whether a beginning will be found at all, where in the end “the many billions of money” that are necessary for a real implementation of the plans and production, nobody in Tokyo knows yet.