Microsoft unveils company's first quantum computing chip

Microsoft on Wednesday revealed its first quantum computing chip, Majorana 1, stating it will speed up the development of quantum computers able to solve "meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades."

The chip's release marks a major step for quantum computing, a branch of technology that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to process problems that are too complex or taxing for classic computers to solve.

The launch of Majorana 1 follows nearly two decades of research at Microsoft, Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said on X Wednesday.

In the process of developing the new chip, Nadella said Microsoft has created an "entirely new state of matter" that is not a solid, liquid or gas. The new matter — a topological state — is created by a topoconductor, which Microsoft describes as a "breakthrough type of material"

The topoconductor will assist Majorana in producing more reliable, faster and smaller qubits, which are the building blocks for quantum computers.

“We took a step back and said ‘OK, let’s invent the transistor for the quantum age. What properties does it need to have?’” Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow, said in a blog post Wednesday. “And that’s really how we got here — it’s the particular combination, the quality and the important details in our new materials stack that have enabled a new kind of qubit and ultimately our entire architecture.”

"All the world’s current computers operating together can’t do what a one-million-qubit quantum computer will be able to do," the post continued.

Other major technology companies like OBM and Google have already launched quantum processors, and some in the industry were wondering when Microsoft would enter the field.

Nadella defended the nearly two decades it took Microsoft to reach this discovery, stating it "takes patience and persistence to have big impact in the world."

"This is our focus: When productivity rises, economies grow faster, benefiting every sector and every corner of the globe," he wrote. "It's not about hyping tech; it’s about building technology that truly serves the world."

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