Japanese Chipmaker Looking to Power Apple’s Artificial Intelligence Servers
Credit: Apple
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A low-profile Japanese chipmaker is hoping to secure a contract to power Apple’s future artificial intelligence server farms, reports AppleInsider.
Rapidus is an ambitious semiconductor firm, formed in 2022, that is quickly becoming a respected source for advanced artificial intelligence chips. The Japanese firm is reportedly engaged in talks with several major tech firms, including Apple, Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
The supplier is attempting to get contracts in place to mass-produce cutting-edge 2-nanometer (2 nm) chips as soon as 2027. While Rapidus currently lags behind other chipmakers, like TSMC and Samsung, the company’s CEO says it can catch up to those firms with more advanced manufacturing techniques.
While 2 nm chipmakers are expected to benefit from the demand for chips to power data centers, there are other applications that could benefit the companies as they look to power artificial intelligence across their devices with improved energy efficiency. Smaller chips could be used in everything from AI cloud servers to on-device AI.
Rapidus was founded with the assistance of the Japanese government and investments from major Japanese corporations, including Toyota, SoftBank, and Sony. The company was founded to serve as a Japanese competitor to other international semiconductor makers, such as Samsung and TSMC.
With Rapidus pushing into the advanced semiconductor market, we’re seeing a significant shift in the global processor manufacturing landscape traditionally dominated by TSMC and Samsung. The emerging market is increasingly being formed by geopolitical considerations.
With rising political tensions between China, Taiwan, and the United States, chips produced in Japan could help avoid President Trump’s heavy tariffs on Chinese imports. In addition to tariff worries, many tech firms are searching for more stable yet diversified supply chain options, allowing them to protect their business against global supply disruptions.
A partnership between Apple and Rapidus could result in greater geopolitical stability and long-term supply chain resilience. Rapidus’s high-profile partnerships and backing by the Japanese government could eventually make it a viable competitor to TSMC.
Nikkei Asia recently reported that Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike has been in ongoing discussions with major tech companies. Rapidus could benefit from companies like Google and Apple looking for ways to diversify their supply chains, reducing their dependence on Taiwan-based TSMC, which is dealing with concerns over regional instability.
Rapidus recently started up a prototype production line at its Hokkaido facility. The company is expected to begin full-scale operations by the first of May. An investment of around $1.37 billion (200 billion yen) is aiding the company in accelerating production to meet its self-imposed 2027 timeline.
While TSMC is still expected to be the industry leader when it comes to 2 nm chips, which are expected to enter mass production this year, Rapidus could be in a position to quickly close the gap between it and TSMC, thanks to the strategic partnerships it’s seeking.
So far, Rapidus has joined with IBM to develop its advanced 2 nm manufacturing processes while also securing the essential extreme ultraviolet lithography machines from ASML required for that process.
Other strategic partnerships Rapidus has made include one with Esperanto Technologies to develop energy-efficient AI chips and one with Preferred Networks and SAKURA Internet, which will aid in offering cloud-based AI services in Japan.
