Japanese semiconductor company Rapidus President Junyi Koike said: plans to build a 2nm prototype line in the first half of 2025 at the earliest, the technology needs to establish 2 trillion yen, and the preparation of a mass production line also needs 3 trillion yen.
The first prototype of this 2nm semiconductor pilot line will be built in 2025, and then mass production will begin in the “late 20s” to catch up with world-class semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC, which plans to mass produce the 2nm process in 2025.
Rapidus was established in August 2022, by Toyota, Sony, NTT, NEC, Softbank, Denso Denso, Armor Man, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and other eight Japanese companies jointly funded the establishment of the amount of 7.3 billion yen, in addition to the Japanese government also provided a 70 billion yen grant as a research and development budget.
According to the report, Rapidus plans to formally decide on the site of the prototype 2nm production line facility by March, which is also expected to handle the subsequent mass production work. Junji Koike said the site will require a stable utility infrastructure and the ability to “easily attract domestic and foreign talent.
The more delicate and complex the circuitry of a cutting-edge semiconductor, the longer it takes from design to mass production. President Koike said that the system for providing design support to user companies and the mass production process will be adjusted to shorten the time required for mass production. The goal is to differentiate ourselves from TSMC and Samsung in Korea, which are far ahead in terms of volume, by offering cutting-edge products in a short period of time. President Koike said that in the future, “we will aim to establish a high-yield business model with a system that only mass-produces cutting-edge products.
It is worth mentioning that the technical difficulty required for 2nm mass production is much higher than the existing technology. Although TSMC has a factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, the semiconductor factory scheduled to start mass production in 2024 can only produce 12 to 28 nm products.
In addition, Rapidus signed a technology licensing agreement with IBM in late 2022, and IBM has successfully piloted 2nm products in 2021. Rapidus will be sending employees to the U.S. in the near future to become proficient in the underlying technology required.
