An Oppstar unit has joined Rapidus CORE, the partner program run by Japan's advanced logic foundry venture Rapidus, to accelerate development of next-generation semiconductors, The Star reports.

The membership places the Oppstar subsidiary inside a curated ecosystem that Rapidus is assembling around its effort to commercialize leading-edge process technology in Japan. For Oppstar — a Malaysia-based chip design services provider rooted in EDA tooling and IC implementation — the move signals a deliberate reach into one of the industry's most aggressive front-end roadmaps.

What is Rapidus CORE?

Rapidus launched in 2022 with backing from eight major Japanese companies — including Toyota, Sony, Kioxia and SoftBank — plus Japanese government support, with the stated goal of producing 2nm-class logic semiconductors. The company has partnered with IBM and imec to shortcut its way to leading-edge nodes.

CORE is Rapidus' vehicle for pulling design houses, tool vendors, IP providers and service firms into that effort. Members gain early alignment with Rapidus' process and design ecosystem as the foundry prepares for volume manufacturing — a structure modeled loosely on how TSMC and Samsung cultivate design alliances around new nodes.

Why does it matter for Oppstar?

For a design-services company, access to a foundry's ecosystem ahead of its production ramp is a commercial head start. Customers evaluating silicon on a new node need partners who already understand the process kit, design rules and tool flows. By joining CORE now, the Oppstar unit positions itself as an implementation partner for designers targeting Rapidus silicon.

The step also extends Malaysia's footprint beyond back-end packaging and test into front-end design services for leading-edge logic — a shift that follows broader Southeast Asian efforts to climb the semiconductor value chain.

The competitive backdrop

Rapidus faces a compressed timeline. It targets prototype output in 2025 and mass production by 2027, a schedule that would put a newcomer on a node cadence the industry normally measures in decades. Success depends heavily on recruiting exactly the kind of ecosystem partners CORE is designed to attract — firms that can populate the node with tape-outs.

Every services company that joins before the ramp strengthens the commercial case for designers to consider Rapidus as an alternative to established leading-edge foundries.

The Star did not disclose financial terms of the membership or a timeline for the Oppstar unit's first engagements on the platform. Whether the partnership converts into design wins will become clearer as Rapidus moves from pilot production toward its 2027 volume target.