Companies

Rapidus Opens Office in Northern Japan’s Hokkaido

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Rendering of the Rapidus Corp. plant

Jiji Press

12:53 JST, January 23, 2024

CHITOSE, Hokkaido, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press) — Rapidus Corp. opened an office on Monday in Chitose, Hokkaido, northern Japan, where the Japanese chipmaker is currently building a factory.

The new office is tasked with coordinating with local communities and hiring workers, in preparation for the launch of operations of a pilot production line at the plant in 2025.

The office is some 6.5 kilometers from the plant. The number of staff at the office will increase to around 15 by the end of this year and around 30 next year.

Construction work for the plant started last September. Rapidus aims to develop state-of-the-art chips with a circuit line width of 2 nanometers and mass-produce them, starting in 2027.

At a press conference after the office’s opening ceremony, Rapidus President and CEO Atsuyoshi Koike said that the global market for 2-nanometer chips is expected to reach some ¥10 trillion in 2030. “We’d like to secure around 10 %,” Koike said.