Tenstorrent, a Silicon Valley AI chip startup founded by veterans from Apple (AAPL.O) and Intel (INTC.O), announced a new partnership with the Japanese government to train up to 200 Japanese chip designers at its U.S. offices over the next five years.

The contract, valued at $50 million and shared with Japan's Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center, is part of Japan's push to revitalize its semiconductor industry. Japan once held over half of the global chip market in the 1980s, but its share has since dropped to less than 10%.

A key player in Japan's semiconductor revival is Rapidus, a government-backed chipmaker aiming to produce advanced semiconductors domestically, with mass production targeted for 2027. To sustain operations, Rapidus will need customers seeking local manufacturing for their chip designs. This partnership with Tenstorrent is intended to cultivate those future clients.

Under the arrangement, Japanese engineers will work alongside Tenstorrent's team, including well-known figures like Jim Keller and Wei-Han Lien (both former Apple chip designers) and Yasuo Ishii, an Arm Holdings veteran, starting in April 2025. This collaboration will equip the engineers with skills to design AI chips, which they can later bring back to Japan's semiconductor sector.

While Tenstorrent will retain the rights to any chip designs created under this deal, the designs will be based on RISC-V, an open-source chip architecture. The experience gained will enable the visiting engineers to develop their own RISC-V-based designs upon their return to Japan.

"Japan's actions and investments clearly show their commitment to taking control of their semiconductor future," Tenstorrent's Chief Customer Officer, David Bennett.