Japanese chipmaker Rapidus launches the CORE initiative with Design Solution Associates as its first phase to support semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus has announced the establishment of a Collaborative Open Rapid Ecosystem (CORE), a global framework designed to provide customers with reliable development and production infrastructure for advanced semiconductors.

The initiative's first phase centers on a Design Solution Associates program, which will serve as a bridge between Rapidus and its customers by providing resources and expertise to support semiconductor development. Rapidus said this approach will strengthen its support system across the entire design-to-manufacturing pipeline and enable the company to meet customer demand in Japan and globally.

The Design Solutions Associates currently comprises 17 companies, including Cadence, Infosys, Synopsys, Toshiba Information Systems, and Wipro. In subsequent phases, Rapidus plans to expand CORE to include electronic design automation and intellectual property offerings to deepen partnerships across these categories.

Rapidus was founded in November 2022 by the Japanese government alongside industry partners SoftBank, Sony, and NTT, with the mandate to boost domestic chip production using technology licensed from IBM. The company began testing its first production line in Hokkaido, Japan in 2025 and is expected to commence 2nm chip manufacturing in 2027.