Rapidus aims to offer fully automated packaging for 2nm fabs to reduce chip lead times

One of the major challenges Rapidus will face as it begins mass production of 2nm chips in 2027 is winning over customers. With Intel, Samsung, and TSMC all expected to offer their own 2nm nodes by then, Rapidus will need some kind of advantage to pry customers away from more established rivals. To that end, the company believes it has found its advantage: fully automated packaging, which will allow for faster chip turnaround times than human-assisted packaging operations.

In an interview with Nikkei, Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike outlined the company’s vision to leverage advanced packaging as a competitive advantage for the new plant. The Hokkaido plant, currently under construction and set to begin installing equipment in December, is already scheduled to produce chips and offer advanced packaging services at the same facility, a first for the industry. Ultimately, however, Rapidus’ biggest plan to differentiate itself is to automate the factory’s back-end processes (chip packaging) to enable much faster turnaround times.

Rapidus is particularly focused on back-end production because, compared to front-end (lithography) production, back-end production still relies heavily on human labor. No other advanced packaging factory has fully automated this process to date, which provides a degree of flexibility but slows throughput. However, by automating this aspect of chip production, Rapidus will be able to increase the efficiency and speed of chip packaging, which is crucial as chip assembly tasks become increasingly complex. Rapidus is also working with a number of Japanese suppliers to source materials for back-end production.

“In the past, Japanese chipmakers have tried to keep their technology development in-house, which has driven up development costs and made them less competitive,” Koike told Nikkei.[Rapidus plans to] make available technology that should be standardized, reducing costs, while managing important technology internally.”

Financially, Rapidus faces a significant challenge, needing a total of 5 trillion yen ($35 billion) by the time mass production begins in 2027. The company estimates that 2 trillion yen will be needed for prototype production by 2025. While the Japanese government has provided 920 billion yen in aid, Rapidus still needs to secure significant funding from private investors.

Due to its lack of history and experience in chipmaking, as well as limited visibility of success, Rapidus has struggled to attract private funding. The company is in talks with the government to facilitate capital raising, including potential loan guarantees, and hopes new regulations will help that effort.