Former Intel CEO Gelsinger says Japanese semiconductor maker Rapidus needs fundamentally differentiating technology to catch up with TSMC
Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan's Rapidus - The Japan Times
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/06/27/companies/playground-gelsinger/
Ex-Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger gives Japan's new leading-edge chipmaker advice, says Rapidus needs unique tech to compete with TSMC | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/ex-intel-ceo-pat-gelsinger-gives-japans-new-leading-edge-chipmaker-advice-says-rapidus-needs-unique-tech-to-compete-with-tsmc
Lapidus is a semiconductor manufacturer established in 2022 with 7.3 billion yen in investment from major companies such as Toyota, Denso, Sony, NTT, NEC, SoftBank, Kioxia, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. The company is supported by the Japanese government, which recognizes that securing cutting-edge semiconductors is important for industry and national security. In April 2024, a subsidy of 590 billion yen was approved for Lapidus, and the FY2024 supplementary budget proposal allocated approximately 1.5 trillion yen to strengthening the AI and semiconductor industry, including Lapidus.
The Japanese government allocates a supplementary budget of about 1.5 trillion yen to strengthen the chip, quantum computing and AI industries, part of which goes to chip startup Rapidus - GIGAZINE
Lapidus has installed the NXE:3800E mass-production EUV exposure tool from Dutch semiconductor exposure equipment manufacturer ASML at a factory it built in Chitose City, Hokkaido, and has been operating a pilot production line for domestically produced 2nm semiconductors since April 2025.
Meanwhile, Gelsinger, former CEO of Intel and general partner of venture capital firm Playground Global at the time of writing, held a press conference in Tokyo in June 2025. When asked at the press conference about the possibility of Lapidus becoming a major semiconductor manufacturer in the future, Gelsinger said, 'I applaud Japan's efforts to bring Lapidus to market.'
'But we also believe that Lapidus needs a fundamentally differentiating technology, because trying to catch up with TSMC without the ability to make breakthroughs is a very difficult path,' Gelsinger said, indicating that Lapidus needs to differentiate itself in the semiconductor market.
'We believe that Japan and the United States will be a strong partnership for the future of technology and semiconductors. One of the reasons we came to Japan is to meet with our respective Japanese companies and help them build exponential capabilities,' Gelsinger said. He argued that working with Japanese companies will bring opportunities to startups in which Playground Global has invested, as Japanese companies have a large share of the semiconductor materials and related fields.
by Fortune Brainstorm Tech
Lapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike has suggested that Lapidus does not intend to compete directly with TSMC because it is not aiming for super-large-scale production like TSMC. Lapidus will focus on customers who want advanced chips specially customized to their needs, rather than customers who want mass-produced general-purpose chips, and will focus on working closely with customers.
Technology media Tom's Hardware points out that what sets Rapidus apart from other semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung, Intel, and TSMC is that it fully automates the packaging process, which electrically packages semiconductors to protect them from the external environment, and integrates it on the same site as wafer manufacturing. Tom's Hardware said that this system is expected to shorten production times.
Lapidus aims to have its first prototype ready by July 2025 and to begin mass production of 2nm semiconductors by 2027.
in Note, Posted by log1h_ik