🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Rapidus takes a different path than TSMC

• Rapidus is chasing a market slice that differs from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker 1.
• It is leaning on short turnaround times and hands-on support for custom chip designers who want smaller wafer batches 1.
• Its initial plan calls for 25,000 wafer starts per month, far below the 100,000-plus wafer starts per month that TSMC can reach at scale 2.
• Its roadmap does not include backside power delivery, a chip design approach that routes power through the back of the chip to improve performance and efficiency. Intel’s 18A process includes backside power delivery through its PowerVia technology, and TSMC’s A16 process is slated to introduce backside power in the second half of 2026 2.

State money adds to a splintering chip supply chain

• Japan is putting significant public funding into Rapidus as countries push for technological sovereignty, meaning more control over important technologies at home rather than relying on concentrated overseas supply chains 1.
• The spending aligns with a shift from FinFET transistors, a long-dominant chip structure, to Gate-All-Around (GAA) architecture, a newer design that can improve control and efficiency at very small scales 2.
• This change gives newcomers room since TSMC’s past lead in FinFET does not guarantee the same advantage in GAA-era manufacturing 2.
• Costs stay high. Rapidus needs an estimated US$32 billion for full-scale mass production of 2-nanometer chips by 2027, which could mean more state-backed fabs and a more fragmented global chip industry 1.