As is known, by the end of this month, the young Japanese company Rapidus hopes to launch its pilot line for contract manufacturing of 2-nm chips on the island of Hokkaido. The head of the startup hopes that serial production of chips will be established for large clients such as Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
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In any case, as CEO Atsuyoshi Koike explained, negotiations are currently underway with 40 or 50 potential clients, and in addition to the American cloud giants, they include startups developing chips for artificial intelligence systems. The name of one of them is not hidden – it is Tenstorrent, headed by the legendary Jim Keller. In addition to this company, Rapidus has signed a memorandum of understanding with another startup, the name of which is not disclosed.
The head of Rapidus was forced to admit that the current geopolitical situation makes it difficult for Chinese developers to accept orders for the production of chips, but it also encourages those who are afraid of excessive dependence on Taiwan’s TSMC to turn to the services of the Japanese company. The latter will begin production of 2-nm chips this year, while Rapidus’ first prototypes will be ready only by mid-July, after which mass production is planned to be established no earlier than 2027. At the same time, the Rapidus management is convinced that over time the gap with TSMC will be reduced, and an important advantage of the Japanese manufacturer will be the short waiting period from the moment of ordering the developed chip until its release. The Japanese startup hopes to reduce this period by two or three times compared to competitors. For the same startups, such a feature will be of decisive importance, according to the Rapidus representative.
The company’s management also understands the importance of preparing for the development of 1.4-nm technology. Within two and a half to three years after the development of mass production of 2-nm chips, Rapidus will have to begin developing 1.4-nm technology. If this is not done, the company risks falling behind in competition with the rest of the world, as the head of the manufacturer made clear.