Tokyo, 15 April, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese chip venture Rapidus Corp has established a subsidiary in Silicon Valley to expand its reach in the world-leading IT and semiconductor hub.
Rapidus Design Solutions LLC, located in Santa Clara, California, will be led by President and General Manager Henri Richard, an executive with decades of leadership experience in semiconductor sales and marketing built up while working with firms like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and International Business Machines Corp.
The U.S. subsidiary will serve semiconductor companies without production lines and technology partners in the Americas “interested in accelerating time to market for the world’s most advanced semiconductors,” the Japanese government-backed venture, headquartered in Tokyo, said in a press release.
Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike, who attended a ceremony and press conference on Thursday marking the launch of the U.S. unit, said it is important that the company works with start-ups in Silicon Valley to spur semiconductor development.
Rapidus was formed in 2022 with investment from eight major Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Group Corp as part of Japan’s efforts to rejuvenate its once-powerful chip industry.
It plans to mass produce state-of-the-art 2-nanometer chips in 2027 in cooperation with IBM, aiming to start a pilot line in 2025.
Koike said most of the demand will come from Silicon Valley firms during the transition period from pilot production to mass production.
The nanometer chips are expected to be produced at a factory Rapidus, which is receiving nearly 1 trillion yen in Japanese government subsidies, is building on the northern main island of Hokkaido.
The Santa Clara office is an extension of Rapidus’ existing presence in the United States. More than 100 Rapidus scientists and engineers currently work alongside IBM researchers in New York at one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor research facilities, according to the Japanese company.
