Japanese chipmaker Rapidus plans US sales office
By Sam Nussey and Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese chip foundry venture Rapidus plans to open a sales office in the United States by the end of the financial year.
Rapidus is led by veteran chip executives and hopes to manufacture cutting-edge chips by partnering with IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Belgium-based research organisation Imec.
The company is targeting territory dominated by companies including Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung Electronics (KS:005930), which have spent years building up their chipmaking operations.
The venture broke ground on its plant in Japan's northern city of Chitose in September and is among domestic and foreign chipmakers receiving government subsidies to build capacity.
Countries around the world are looking to strengthen their control over chip supply chains after global shocks including the COVID pandemic and trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
The CEO of Imec said last week that what Rapidus is trying to do is «extremely difficult» adding he was «positive» about the prospects for the venture.
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