Rapidus told the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that it plans to start churning out next-generation chips in the second half of fiscal 2027 and expects total spending to reach seven trillion yen [€44.7 billion]. The outfit hopes to float itself around fiscal 2031.

It had earlier estimated it would need roughly five trillion yen [€31.9 billion] to prepare for mass production.

For the current fiscal year ending March, the trade ministry said it will invest 100 billion yen [€638 million] in the venture and about 150 billion yen [€957 million] in fiscal 2026.

Tokyo also plans subsidies of around 630 billion yen [€4.02 billion] in fiscal 2026 and roughly 300 billion yen [€1.91 billion] in fiscal 2027. These sit alongside the 1.7 trillion yen [€10.87 billion] in subsidies already pledged and the 100 billion yen [€638 million] from private investors.

Rapidus wants to mass-produce two-nanometre chips in the second half of fiscal 2027, which nobody has managed to flog commercially yet, and then move on to 1.4-nanometre and one-nanometre processes in the following few years.

Japan’s trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said: “It’s a national project that we must make a success out of”, at a press conference after the government signed off on Rapidus’s latest business proposal.

A revised law on information technology promotion came into force in August and created a framework for direct state meddling in advanced chip development.

The trade ministry received subsidy requests between September and October, but only one from Rapidus.

Tokyo’s panic stems from the global dogfight over advanced semiconductors, with AI stoking demand for faster and more energy-efficient silicon.

The company was founded in 2022 with cash from eight major Japanese companies, including Toyota and Sony Group.