Bloomberg: Japan's Rapidus Months Behind on 2nm SRAM Milestone, March 2028 Mass-Production Target at Risk
Bloomberg reported on November 10, citing people familiar with the matter, that Rapidus, the Japanese government-backed chipmaker, has yet to produce working SRAM (static random-access memory) cells, a step that was supposed to be completed this summer. The company is now at least several months behind schedule, putting its target of mass-producing 2-nanometer chips by March 2028 at risk.
SRAM cells are the memory blocks inside every processor and a basic building block of the 2nm process. The people said Rapidus also continues to struggle with dust and particle control in its Hokkaido cleanroom, and that the technical delays could push back the company's planned 2032 initial public offering. Japan's government has committed more than 2 trillion yen (about $13 billion) to the venture, which seeks to reduce Japan's reliance on Taiwan's TSMC for advanced chips. Rapidus announced in July 2025 that its Hokkaido pilot line had produced working transistors.
A Rapidus spokesperson said the company is fully pushing toward starting mass production in the second half of fiscal 2027 (October 2027 to March 2028), but declined to give technical details, citing confidentiality. Chairman Tetsuro Higashi said in October that the project was running almost on schedule. Japan's Dempa Shimbun reported on November 11 that a plan to postpone mass production by about a year, into fiscal 2028, has emerged.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Source: Bloomberg
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：在建中的Rapidus北海道芯片工厂。照片：CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源 / The Rapidus chip plant under construction in Hokkaido, Japan. Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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