Japan's Rapidus has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK partners to provide British innovators and researchers access to advanced 2nm semiconductor technology and manufacturing expertise. The MoU positions the UK as a secondary hub for cutting-edge chip R&D outside the primary TSMC/Samsung ecosystem.
For European and UK enterprises, this opens pathways to sovereign semiconductor capability and co-development partnerships with Japanese foundry leadership. It addresses geopolitical supply-chain risks by diversifying advanced-node access beyond Taiwan and South Korea, critical for AI chip and processor roadmaps.