Chipmaker Rapidus will receive an additional subsidy of 3.6 billion euros from the Japanese government

The Japanese government has promised another 3.6 billion euros in subsidy to chip maker Rapidus, on top of the previously promised 2 billion euros. The chipmaker, founded in 2022, wants to make 2nm chips in Japan later this decade.

The new subsidy amounts to 590 billion yen, of which 53.5 billion yen is intended for research and development around chip packaging, among other things. Reuters writes this on the basis of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Rapidus was founded in 2022 by Japanese tech companies such as Kioxia, NEC, SoftBank, Sony and Toyota. Since its founding, the Japanese government has awarded subsidies of around 330 billion yen to the chip manufacturer. The company also collaborates with the Belgian research institute imec. Rapidus wants to start producing 2nm chips in 2027. The company will become an external foundry, similar to TSMC. Rapidus previously expressed the expectation that it would need around 49 billion euros to be able to make 2nm chips in 2027.