Japan's Rapidus in talks with Apple and Google to mass-produce chips: CEO

TOKYO -- Japanese chipmaker Rapidus is negotiating with Apple, Google and dozens of other potential clients in a bid to mass-produce advanced semiconductors by 2027, CEO Atsuyoshi Koike said.

A prototype chip line, which began partial operation on Tuesday at a plant in Hokkaido, is scheduled to be fully up and running within the month. Rapidus will be able to show data on the chips it has fabricated "to customers by mid-July at the latest," Koike said in an interview with Nikkei, before the prototype line started.