The Japanese government is considering investment in semiconductor manufacturer Rapidus which aims to start mass production in 2027. 

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Japan Times reported that this move is expected to catalyze private investments in the company, with the government's involvement boosting its credibility. 

Move to Spur Private Sector Investment

According to the report, the development also aligns with the country's plans to accelerate the domestic private sector to provide funding to the semiconductor industry, which could propel the country's economic growth and competitiveness in the future. 

However, Japanese Industry Minister Ken Saito said that the government had made no finalization regarding a potential investment in the semiconductor manufacturer. 

"At the moment, no decision has been made on government investment in Rapidus. We will consider submitting related legislation to the parliament early, keeping up with Rapidus' efforts," said Saito.

The government is preparing to submit a bill at an extraordinary parliamentary session this autumn at the earliest to support the development of Rapidus. 

Rapidus: All You Need to Know

Established in 2022, with the support of eight major Japanese companies: Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, NTT, SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota, the company aims to increase advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity with a circuit line width of 2 nanometers by 2027. 

According to reports, the projected expense of materializing this project could be more than 5 trillion Japanese yen. To accelerate the development, the government has decided to provide up to 920 billion Japanese yen to do research and development in the facility. 

Currently, private sector investments in Rapidus stood at 7.3 billion Japanese yen. 

If the government invests heavily in the company, it could boost confidence among private investors, along with helping the firm obtain loans easily. 

In February, Bloomberg reported that Rapidus was given a contract by Canadian startup Tenstorrent to develop next-generation AI (artificial intelligence) chips, making the Canadian firm the first customer of Rapidus.