Japan has granted an additional $4 billion to the chipmaker Rapidus

Japan’s industry ministry announced on Saturday the approval of an additional 631.5 billion yen ($3.96 billion) to expedite research and development at chipmaker Rapidus.

The support is an integral component of the government’s initiatives aimed at enhancing domestic production of advanced semiconductors and fortifying chip supply chains.

With the most recent funding, Rapidus’ total research and development assistance reaches 2.354 trillion yen.

The ministry announced that NEDO, its subordinate organization, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, has chosen to support semiconductor design-related projects by Fujitsu (6702.T) and IBM Japan.

Rapidus is engaged in the development of next-generation logic semiconductors at the 2-nanometer scale and aims to commence mass production in the fiscal year 2027.

In February, the company obtained a total investment of approximately 160 billion yen from private firms, alongside a projected 250 billion yen from the government.