Nov 5 (Reuters) - Tenstorrent, a Silicon Valley

artificial intelligence chip startup founded by Apple ( AAPL )

and Intel ( INTC ) veterans, said it had won a deal with the

Japanese government to help train up to 200 Japanese chip

designers at its U.S. offices over five years.

The contract announced on Tuesday, under which $50 million

will be divvied up among Tenstorrent and Japan's Leading-edge

Semiconductor Technology Center, is part of Japan's effort to

reinvigorate its semiconductor industry. The country controlled

half or more of the global chips market through the 1980s but

has less than a tenth of the market today.

The centerpiece of Japan's efforts is Rapidus, a contract

chipmaker with billions of dollars in government backing aiming

to build advanced semiconductors in Japan and start mass

production by 2027. But to succeed, the Rapidus factory will

need to find customers who want their chip designs manufactured

there.

The deal on Tuesday is aimed at creating those future

customers. Tenstorrent last year partnered with Rapidus to

develop designs that can be made in its factory, and bringing

Japanese engineers to its U.S. offices is aimed at spreading

that knowledge throughout Japan's chip industry.

"I think Japan's actions and their investments have clearly

indicated that they want to be in more control of their own

future," Tenstorrent Chief Customer Officer David Bennett told

Reuters in an interview.

Starting in April 2025, Japanese engineers will work

alongside Tenstorrent executives such as Jim Keller and Wei-Han

Lien, both of whom created chips for Apple ( AAPL ), and Yasuo Ishii, a

veteran of Arm Holdings, to design AI chips.

While Tenstorrent will retain the chip blueprints created

under the deal, those blueprints will be made using RISC-V, a

free and open chip design technology. The visiting Japanese

engineers will be able to use their experience in the U.S. to

create their own RISC-V designs in Japan when they return.