Rapidus breaks ground on 2nm fab, goes on hiring spree

News | September 1, 2023

By Peter Clarke

Japan wafer Materials & processes

Japanese government-backed startup Rapidus Corp. has held a groundbreaking ceremony for its 2nm wafer fab at Chitose in Hokkaido.

Rapidus was founded with support of a consortium of eight major Japanese companies in 2022 to develop and produce cutting-edge chips using a 2nm process by 2027 (see Consortium forms Rapidus to get Japan back into chip race at 2nm).

The wafer fab is called IIM-1 with IIM standing for Innovative Integration for Manufacturing and construction of IIM-1 is due to begin later in September, Rapidus said.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by numerous politicians, incuding Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and senior Rapidus’ management including Tetsuro Higashi, chairman and Atsuyoshi Koike, President.

Many employees

Koike told attendees that Rapidus has already hired more than 200 employees.

It has dispatched some of these to the Albany Nanotech Complex in New York to work with IBM to develop technologies for the production of 2nm logic semiconductors. The partnership with IBM to use its semiconductor intellectual property is a fundamental part of the plan for Rapidus (see Rapidus seeks billions of dollars to use IBM’s 2nm process).

The company has also joined R&D programs based at IMEC in Leuven, Belgium (see Japan’s 2nm hope Rapidus, joins IMEC’s ‘Core’ research program).

The company said that using this technology it plans to start operation of a pilot production line at IIM-1 in April 2025, and begin mass production in 2027.