Rapidus hunts for engineers to help Japan regain faded chip glory. In an attempt to resurrect a chip sector that was once the envy of the world, government-backed Japanese chip foundry startup Rapidus is searching far and wide among industry veterans and beyond for engineers.
With the support of billions of dollars in subsidies, Rapidus wants to produce 2-nanometer logic chips in large quantities and compete with market leaders like Taiwan’s TSMC (2330. TW), which has spent decades perfecting its manufacturing techniques.
One of the company’s top priorities is finding engineers in an aging population. It is collaborating with IBM (IBM.N) and the research group Imec, and in September, it began construction on a facility on the northern island of Hokkaido.
Veteran executives from the semiconductor business who worked in the 1980s, when Japan held a nearly 50% market share in the world chip market, are leading Rapidus. That has decreased to around 10%, and despite Japan’s continued leadership in chipmaking materials and equipment, the sector is losing its reputation at home.
“People who wanted to work on the cutting edge were the main target at first, but recently we have made a list of people who left Japan to work abroad and they are now joining,” stated Tetsuro Higashi, the 74-year-old chairman of Rapidus and the former CEO of Tokyo Electron, a toolmaker, in an August interview.
As of November, Rapidus employed around 250 people. Among its growing workforce is Masami Suzuki, a senior manager in the 3D package division in her 50s.
“I need around ten years to complete a new project. I hoped to create one more flower blossom, and Rapidus’s debut coincided well. Speaking on her career in an interview, Suzuki remarked, “I decided to bet my remaining time on it.”
Chip industry experts have expressed skepticism towards Rapidus’s lofty objectives, questioning the company’s ability to acquire an adequate client base and reach mass manufacturing.
The lead engineer for process technology at Rapidus, Naoto Yonemaru, is in his 30s. “When I first heard about Rapidus, I thought it had a hugely challenging goal,” he remarked. “While we will receive technology, we must develop our techniques.”
As part of a group of Rapidus engineers moving to New York state to work with IBM while the fab is being built, Yonemaru moved there last month. “I’m excited by the thought that we could achieve such a thing,” he stated.
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