Japan's Rapidus in talks with Apple, Google to mass-produce chips, Nikkei reports

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Rapidus Corp. is displayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

(Reuters) - Japanese chipmaker Rapidus is negotiating with Apple, Google and dozens of other potential clients to mass-produce advanced chips by 2027, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday, citing the company's CEO Atsuyoshi Koike.

A prototype chip line, which began partial operation on Tuesday at a plant in Hokkaido, is scheduled to be fully up and running within the month, the report said.

The CEO did not name any specific customers but said the company is in discussions with Google, Apple, Facebook , Amazon and Microsoft .

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)