New York and Hokkaido Launch Semiconductor R&D and Workforce Partnership

A memorandum of understanding links the Albany NanoTech Complex with Japan’s newest advanced chip cluster

In Chitose, Hokkaido, a company called Rapidus is building a fab to produce two-nanometer chips, the industry’s most advanced node. In Albany, New York, NY Creates operates the largest nonprofit semiconductor R&D facility in North America. In August 2024, the two regions agreed to work together.

Governor Kathy Hochul hosted Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki and a Japanese government delegation at the Albany NanoTech Complex, where NY Creates, Empire State Development, and the Hokkaido government signed a memorandum of understanding. The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation on research and development, economic growth, and workforce development, with a specific aim of deepening links between the Albany complex and the Rapidus project.

Learning from the model

Ahead of the signing, Hokkaido’s leaders received an in-depth briefing on NY Creates’ operating model, which combines public ownership, industry partnership, and academic collaboration in a single facility. The delegation then toured the complex, which was undergoing a $1 billion expansion to establish the nation’s first High NA EUV Lithography Center.

“The state of New York is the leading example of building a semiconductor ecosystem with academic, industry, and public collaboration.”

Naomichi Suzuki, Governor of Hokkaido

The visit continued at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, where RPI and Hokkaido University signed a letter of intent for academic collaboration, extending the partnership from research infrastructure into the talent pipeline.

A growing network

The Hokkaido agreement joined a growing list of international partnerships for NY Creates, which followed it with a strategic partnership with JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization, in December 2024, and later a $75 million R&D partnership with Japanese equipment maker SCREEN. Tokyo Electron has operated its Technology Center America at the Albany complex for more than 20 years.

At the time of the signing, New York was home to more than 150 semiconductor and supply chain companies employing over 34,000 people, with more than $112 billion in planned capital investment announced in the prior two years, more than any other state. Partnerships like Hokkaido’s are how that scale becomes a global asset rather than a regional one.

Source: Governor Hochul press release, August 20, 2024 and RPI news on the Hokkaido University letter of intent

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