The Monaka chip represents a historic return for Japan’s semiconductor industry to compete in the global data center market, thanks to its superior energy efficiency per watt.
Article index:
- Fujitsu’s historic entry into the merchant chip market
- Monaka chip specifications with 2nm process and 144 cores
- Geographical distribution map and alliance with Supermicro
- Server sales targets and achieving 250 billion yen
- Future collaboration with Rapidus to produce 1.4nm chips
- Reviving Japan’s semiconductor industry
- Frequently asked questions
Fujitsu’s historic entry into the merchant chip market
Japan’s Fujitsu is preparing to export and market advanced artificial intelligence processors developed from the engineering technology of its renowned Fugaku supercomputer, marking the venerable Japanese company’s first large-scale commercial entry into the external semiconductor sales market for consumers and enterprises, according to a report by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper published on September 13.
This bold move reflects Tokyo’s desire to reclaim its historical glory in the semiconductor sector and capitalize on the massive global demand for high-efficiency logic chips capable of powering and training generative AI models in major cloud data centers.
Monaka chip specifications with 2nm process and 144 cores
The revolutionary new chip is named “Monaka,” a high-performance central processor featuring 144 high-performance computing cores built on the Arm architecture and manufactured using the latest global 2nm process technology. Fujitsu handles the internal engineering design, while Taiwan’s TSMC handles manufacturing and foundry services under an exclusive commercial contract.
The chip relies on 3D chiplet architecture, where the 2nm compute die is stacked above separate 5nm memory and I/O dies. It comes in two variants: an air-cooled model consuming 350 watts and a liquid-cooled model consuming 500 watts suited for high thermal density servers.
Geographical distribution map and alliance with Supermicro
Fujitsu plans to introduce and market Monaka chips in the markets of Japan, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region by 2027, with mass commercial production slated to begin at TSMC’s facilities in March of the same year.
Fujitsu has already concluded a strategic and definitive supply agreement with cloud server giant Supermicro, and is in advanced talks to sign similar deals with major US cloud computing companies and global data centers. Evaluation test servers are currently undergoing technical inspection and auditing at 24 major companies in the telecom and financial sectors, with ongoing positive negotiations with 40 other tech firms to secure advance supply allocations.
Server sales targets and achieving 250 billion yen
Fujitsu’s ambition is not limited to selling individual chips; it also intends to market and sell integrated AI servers equipped with Monaka processors domestically and internationally, targeting the sale of 60,000 advanced computing servers.
The company aims to achieve cumulative CPU sales revenue of 250 billion Japanese yen by fiscal year 2030, while integrating these servers with comprehensive software packages for AI development and deployment platforms to provide end-to-end solutions for data centers.
Future collaboration with Rapidus to produce 1.4nm chips
Fujitsu is looking toward a broader technological horizon to establish technical sovereignty, having drawn up advanced strategic plans to outsource the manufacturing of the next generation of AI chips built on the ultra-advanced 1.4nm node to Japan’s Rapidus foundry, which is heavily backed by government funding, targeting a late-decade rollout in an unprecedented historic achievement.
This domestic industrial alliance strengthens the independence of Japan’s supply chains and provides an integrated national infrastructure for advanced processor manufacturing on Japanese soil, protecting the data center sector from geopolitical disruptions and complex global supply chains.
Reviving Japan’s semiconductor industry
In the 1980s, Fujitsu was a pioneer of Japan’s semiconductor golden age alongside Toshiba and NEC, before declining over the past decade and gradually withdrawing from direct production in favor of competitors in South Korea, the United States, and Taiwan.
Today, through Monaka, Fujitsu is betting on its core competitive advantage derived from supercomputers—namely, computational performance efficiency per watt of consumed power—to carve out a solid foothold against traditional giants Intel, AMD, and Nvidia in a data center market starved for electricity conservation and smart cooling.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What is the Monaka chip and what are its key engineering and technical features?
Answer: It is a high-performance artificial intelligence processor featuring 144 Arm-architecture cores manufactured using 3D 2nm technology at TSMC.
Question: When will Fujitsu begin rolling out these processors in global markets?
Answer: The company plans to begin the rollout in Japan, America, and Asia in 2027, with mass commercial production kicking off in March 2027.
Question: What are the financial goals and server sales targets set by the company?
Answer: It targets selling 60,000 integrated servers and achieving cumulative processor revenues reaching 250 billion Japanese yen by 2030.
