Canon Inc. is finalizing plans to invest billions of yen in Rapidus Corp., the Japanese consortium racing to produce cutting-edge chips domestically by late 2027, Kyodo reported.
The investment, expected to reach several billion yen ($20-65 million), would strengthen ties between the imaging giant and the Hokkaido-based venture. Canon already supplies lithography equipment to the company’s pilot production line in Chitose, where its machines operate alongside ASML Holding NV’s extreme ultraviolet systems.
SoftBank Group Corp., one of Rapidus’s original backers, has also signaled intentions to increase its stake, according to the report.
The capital injection comes as Rapidus faces a formidable funding gap. The company told Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that total investment needs will exceed ¥7 trillion ($45 billion) to achieve mass production of 2-nanometer chips. Government support has reached approximately ¥2.9 trillion ($19 billion), but Rapidus seeks an additional ¥1 trillion ($6.5 billion) from private investors.
Japan’s three largest banks separately indicated they may provide up to ¥2 trillion ($13 billion) in loans to the venture, Nikkei reported.
Whether this patchwork of public subsidies, corporate equity, and bank financing can deliver a viable competitor to TSMC and Samsung remains uncertain. Rapidus has yet to produce chips at commercial scale.
