Japan approved an extra 631.5 billion yen (US$4 billion) for Rapidus, a Japanese chip startup with a foundry in Hokkaido, to speed work on advanced chips for AI and other uses.

The funding lifts state support to 2.6 trillion yen (US$16.3 billion) by the fiscal year ending March 2027, and the economy ministry said part of it will back work for Fujitsu, one of Rapidus’ first customers, after an external committee signed off on the project’s technical progress.