[News] Japan Reportedly Adding ¥1 Trillion in Rapidus Support as It Targets FY2030 Profitability, FY2031 IPO

Japan has been stepping up its 2nm ambitions through Rapidus. According to Nikkei, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on the 21st that it will extend an additional ¥1 trillion (about $6.37 billion) in government support to the company across fiscal years 2026–27, and Rapidus is aiming for an IPO in FY2031.

Beyond subsidies for technology development, the plan also includes additional capital injections, lifting total government support to ¥2.9 trillion. These allocations will be written into each fiscal year’s budget proposal and will move forward subject to Diet deliberation.

The government intends to offer in-kind contributions worth several hundred billion yen, including state-funded factory buildings and production equipment, which will be exchanged for Rapidus shares, the report adds.

Government Tightens Oversight and Control of Rapidus

The report also notes that METI has formally approved a ¥100 billion government equity investment, announced on the 21st, which will be executed through the IPA within FY2025. With this stake, the government will hold voting rights exceeding those of the largest private shareholder by 1%, positioning it as Rapidus’s largest shareholder.

In addition, the government will retain a “golden share” that gives it veto authority over key decisions. Any share transfers to other companies or technical partnerships will require government approval, the report adds.

Rapidus’s Production Roadmap and Funding Strategy

Rapidus has submitted a business plan to METI stating that it expects to achieve operating profitability around FY2030. The report notes that, after beginning volume production of 2nm semiconductors in FY2027, the company also intends to ramp up mass production of 1.4nm chips. Total investment is expected to exceed ¥7 trillion. As the report highlights, Rapidus aims to raise about ¥1 trillion from private-sector investors.

Meanwhile, the report notes that Rapidus’s factories and equipment are owned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and leased to the company under a commissioned-project framework. Rapidus had been required to purchase these assets from the government by FY2027, when mass production begins, but the planned in-kind contributions would lift that obligation.

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(Photo credit: Rapidus)