Rapidus’ 2nm Chip Mass Production ‘Progressing as Expected’, on Track for 2027 Target as Work Underway at Hokkaido Plant

By Yasuhiro Kobayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:06 JST, June 26, 2025

NEW YORK — Rapidus Corp. has been making good progress for the planned start of mass production of 2-nanometer semiconductors in 2027, according to a senior official of the company’s U.S. unit.

“We are progressing at the expected pace,” said Yuzo Fukuzaki, research fellow at Rapidus US, LLC, during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, showing confidence in meeting the target. Fukuzaki oversees operations at the U.S. unit.

Rapidus aims for domestically producing advanced semiconductors. The Japanese company has dispatched about 150 engineers to U.S. facilities of IBM Corp. for technical training to realize the mass production. About half have already returned to Japan and begun preparations for the mass production at a plant in Hokkaido. Prototypes are expected to be completed as early as this summer. “Engineers who were trained in the United States are leading the effort and working hard in Hokkaido,” Fukuzaki said.

Mass production of 2nm semiconductors, which offer both high processing performance and low power consumption, has yet to be achieved globally. “Unless 2nm chips are mass produced, we will be unable to meet the growing demand for AI, and the evolution of AI will come to a halt,” Fukuzaki said, emphasizing the significance of the project.