News
Rapidus CTO Kazunari Ishimaru says company aims for six-month gap with TSMC on 1nm node
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 09:18 PM
Rapidus CTO Kazunari Ishimaru stated that the company aims to reduce the gap with TSMC to six months regarding the development of 1nm process technology nodes. Rapidus is currently working toward establishing 2nm mass production in Japan by 2027 and plans to accelerate its roadmap for subsequent advanced nodes to compete with industry leaders.
Context
Japanese chipmaker Rapidus has intensified its challenge to global foundry leaders, with CTO Kazunari Ishimaru stating the company aims to narrow the technology gap with TSMC to just six months at the 1nm node. This ambitious target follows the company’s ongoing efforts to skip multiple generations of chip development to reach 2nm mass production by 2027. While TSMC currently projects its 1nm (A10) node to arrive around 2030, Rapidus is positioning itself to compete on nearly identical timelines by leveraging its second planned facility in Hokkaido.
This projection represents a significant acceleration for Japan’s domestic semiconductor capabilities, which currently lag at the 40nm level. To achieve this, Rapidus is utilizing IBM’s gate-all-around (GAA) technology and has already begun 2nm pilot production as of April 2025. The company’s success depends on maintaining a rapid scaling schedule, including a planned capacity ramp to 25,000 wafers per month by 2028, as it seeks to provide a high-speed alternative to the traditional foundry model dominated by TSMC and Samsung.
Sources (9)
2nm semiconductor challenges: Exploring Rapidus' technological breakthroughs - Rapidus株式会社75T H ANNIVERSARY O F THE TRANSISTORRapidus reportedly plans second Hokkaido fab for 1.4nm chips as funding gap widens, but company pushes back on timelineTSMC Says It Expects to Produce 1nm Transistors by 2030 | SemiWikiTSMC Says It Expects to Produce 1nm Transistors by 2030 | ExtremetechRapidus targets mass 2nm chip production in 2027, quadruples capacity ramp up — company plans to scale to 25,000 wafer starts per month in just one year | Tom's Hardware▶ EVENT OVERVIEW EXHIBIT GUIDEtimes-online.com - The Race to Silicon Sovereignty: TSMC ... - User
Related Companies
TSMC
2330