Government-backed Japanese chip foundry venture Rapidus is hunting high and low — including among industry veterans and overseas — to find engineers to help it revive a chip industry that was once the envy of the world.
Underpinned by billions of dollars in subsidies, Rapidus aims to mass manufacture 2-nanometer logic chips, competing with industry leading companies such as Taiwan's TSMC, which has spent decades refining its processes.
Securing engineers in a country with a declining population is among the most pressing issues for the company, which is partnering with IBM and research organization Imec and in September broke ground at its fab on the northern island of Hokkaido.