Japanese semiconductor foundry company Rapidus has recently announced that it has received an advanced EUV lithography system from ASML and has begun installation, making it the first company in Japan to possess an EUV lithography system.
Rapidus plans to complete the development of a 2nm chip prototype by spring 2025 and achieve mass production by 2027, compared to TSMC, which plans to start mass production of 2nm chips in 2025.
Regarding Rapidus’s current 2nm customers, CEO Jun Yoshida previously revealed that the company is in talks with 40 clients and expects to announce them after next year.
NVIDIA CEO, on November 13th, hinted that the company might consider contracting Rapidus to manufacture AI chips in the future, emphasizing the importance of supply chain diversification and expressing confidence in Rapidus’s capabilities.
Rapidus CEO Jun Yoshida also stated that, despite TSMC’s lead in the mass production timeline for 2-nanometer chips, Rapidus is confident in having an advantage in process progress and can quickly improve yield and performance to catch up with TSMC.
Established in August 2022, Rapidus is seen as Japan’s ‘national team’ in semiconductors, composed of eight Japanese companies including the Japanese government, Sony, Toyota, Kioxia, NTT, SoftBank, NEC, Denso, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, which have jointly invested in the company.
