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Toyota Motor and Sony led Japanese firms that set up a new company named Rapidus to ramp up next-generation semiconductor production.
The consortium also includes SoftBank Corp, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, Kioxia Corp, Denso Corp, NEC Corp, and MUFG Bank.
The eight firms will invest around 7 billion yen in the consortium, while the Japanese government will extend 70 billion yen in subsidies.
Rapidus will develop and manufacture chips and advance the cultivation of human resources in the semiconductor industry.
Rapidus is aiming to develop and produce sub-2-nanometer semiconductors by the late 2020s.
The joint effort by the consortium comes amid intensifying global competition to develop advanced chips to be used in quantum computers, artificial intelligence, and military weapons.
The move also coincides with a worldwide chip shortage and spurred concerns about Japan’s economic security as the race has been led by companies in Taiwan, South Korea, and the US.
