Prime Highlights:
Microsoft unveils its first quantum processor chip, Majorana 1, an eight-topological quantum bits (qubits) one.
The inventors took months to design a new form of matter, a topological state, which contained particular material alignment at the atomic level.
Key Background:
Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip, Majorana 1, a milestone in the company’s nearly two-decade quest to develop the technology. The technology behind the Majorana 1 chip involves eight topological quantum bits, or qubits, made up of indium arsenide (a semiconductor) and aluminum (a superconductor). The creation of Majorana 1 has involved creating a new state of matter known as topological state.
Other approaches to quantum computing use different kinds of qubits, but Microsoft approached it by having matter organized at the level of atoms. Creating topological matter, the company explains, is a fundamentally tricky thing to do—one that Microsoft would like to make easier using quantum computing itself. Krysta Svore, a technical fellow at Microsoft, described how a scaled quantum computer would increase the capability to predict material properties of quantum chips in the future.
Majorana 1 is not currently available through Microsoft’s Azure cloud services but will have more capacity chips in the future. Chips with a million qubits are an ultimate goal, said Microsoft executive vice president Jason Zander. But before any massive expansion, the company will work with national labs and universities in carrying out further research on Majorana 1. As a production project, Microsoft is currently manufacturing the components of the chip in the U.S. locally, contrary to the use of third-party outside semiconductor manufacturers. Currently, top priority is building the chip in small quantities before making it commercially viable.
Quantum computing has gained significant investor attention in terms of top-of-the-line stock price performance for IonQ and Rigetti Computing. IonQ rose by 237% in 2024, and Rigetti gained nearly 1,500%. The two generated a combined $14.8 million in third-quarter revenue. Microsoft’s eventual goal is to have quantum computing utilized in an effort to support its cloud and artificial intelligence business that would disrupt industries such as material innovation and drug discovery.
