Rapidus to Make Chips for Canon, Synopsys on Trial

Tokyo, March 4 (Jiji Press)–Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corp. will design and produce image-processing semiconductors on trial for Japanese imaging devices maker Canon Inc. and a Japanese unit of major U.S. chip design company Synopsys Inc., it has been learned. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization plans to provide Rapidus with up to 17.5 billion yen to cover two-thirds of the necessary costs for the outsourcing project, sources in the Japanese government affiliate said. Rapidus aims to start mass-producing advanced semiconductors with a circuit line width of 2 nanometers by fiscal 2027. Such chips are expected to help miniaturize electrical devices such as cameras, reduce power consumption and improve image-processing performance. Officials of Rapidus said that the company is currently in talks with more than 60 firms, primarily overseas firms, for the supply of its chip products. As the company needs to secure many Japanese customers to ensure stable mass production of the cutting-edge semiconductors, the government will back up the efforts by Rapidus. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]