Japan's Rapidus to fully automate 2-nm chip fab, president says

Chasing TSMC and Samsung, startup aims to compete on delivery times

20240809N Rapidus Koike

Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike acknowledged the chipmaker faces difficulty in raising private-sector funding. (Photo by Riho Nagao)

RYO MUKANO and RIHO NAGAO, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- Japanese chipmaker Rapidus plans to use robots and artificial intelligence to fully automate production at a chip fabrication facility being built in northern Japan, a move meant to slash delivery times compared with rivals, President Atsuyoshi Koike told Nikkei.

Rapidus -- Japan's new government-backed hope for regaining its edge in chipmaking -- broke ground on the facility in Hokkaido last September. Construction of the exterior will be nearly complete by this October, after which work will start on clean rooms inside the building.

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