Rapidus was founded in August 2022 and is led by CEO Atsuyoshi Koike. The company is developing advanced logic chip manufacturing at its IIM-1 facility in Chitose, Hokkaido, with plans to begin 2nm mass production by fiscal 2027. Rapidus works with IBM on process development and with IMEC in Belgium on broader R&D, and NEDO is involved in design projects alongside Fujitsu and IBM Japan. It was initially backed by eight major Japanese companies — Toyota, Sony, NTT, NEC, SoftBank, Denso, Kioxia, and MUFG — and early confirmed customers include Fujitsu and Tenstorrent. The government has become a major backer through sizeable R&D support and a February 2026 investment that left it with 11.5% of voting rights and a golden share veto. Rapidus is positioning itself as an alternative foundry offering small-volume, quick-turnaround services, but faces challenges securing steady customer orders and improving yields given competitors like TSMC and Samsung began 2nm volume production in 2025.

Total raised

$6.6B

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jun 2026