Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025
On February 19, 2025, Microsoft announced what is supposedly a breakthrough in the quantum computing industry: the Majorana 1 quantum chip. In this article we will break down this complex advancement that has taken the quantum community by storm, and you can decide for yourself how revolutionary it really is.
Microsoft has put forward claims that the new technology will entirely redefine our understanding and applications of quantum computing – expected to bring the timeframe for when we could hope to see a fully-functioning and efficient quantum computer down from decades to mere years.
First, to put things into perspective, no current computer, no matter how advanced, can do what a million qubit quantum computer could. Think revolutionary advancements in drug development, cybersecurity, financial modeling, and problem-solving – all made possible by quantum computing. Not to mention the even greater opportunities that could come with the prospect of combining the technology with artificial intelligence.
But before speculating too hard, let’s dissect the advancement at hand. First, what exactly did Microsoft announce? Well, they introduced a “new topological core architecture”. Microsoft claims their topoconductor is an entirely special category of material, distinguishing it as a whole new state of matter itself. Topoconductors would enable the creation and control of majorana particles, particularly for Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip.
The new topological core architecture introduced by microsoft would be able to develop a processor that could fit a million qubits onto a single chip that could fit in the palm of a person’s hand.
For some context, qubits are the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing. You can think of them as the quantum equivalent of the bits used in classical computers. Qubits come in different forms; like ions or photons.
Microsoft’s approach hinges on using topological superconductors to produce Majorana-based qubits, which are expected to be more resilient to errors.
Majorana particles were first initially theorized by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937. They have unique properties that make their applications in quantum an exciting possibility – particularly, their resistance to noise.
“Noise” is a major obstacle in the quantum computing field, referring to the occurrence where even the tiniest of changes in the surrounding environment can cause qubits to make huge numbers of errors. Developers are working on several ways to address noise. In fact, Google came out in 2024 and said that they had made a huge leap forward in developing a correction technique.
Going back to Microsoft, Microsoft’s Majorana 1 processor marks a huge milestone in their goal of creating a full, fault-tolerant quantum computer. As a part of this effort, Microsoft has caught the attention of DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, who has included Microsoft in a “rigorous program” for their quantum benchmarking initiative, equipped with the goal of creating the sector’s first profitable quantum computer. This is significant, as Microsoft is one of only two companies invited to move into the final phase of the program, providing some merit to the potential of the innovation.
Now, while the development has certainly sparked excitement, there are still doubts posed by experts in the field.
Stephen Bartlett, a quantum physicist at the University of Sydney, says the announcement is “exciting”, but the topological qubit Microsoft is hunting for doesn’t yet exist. “The [new paper] demonstrates one component that you would need for such a computer, which is how they can measure that topological qubit if they exist…But they have not put out any demonstration of that technology yet.”
Another reason for skepticism is the fact that Microsoft retracted their claims of quantum developments in the past. In 2018, they made the announcement that they had experimentally created majorana zero modes, but then retracted it due to errors in data analysis, making experts cautious about their latest claims.
Additionally, UT Austin Computer Science Professor, Scott Aaronson, makes the important observation that within the paper they published in Nature, it is stated that “The editorial team wishes to point out that the results in this manuscript do not represent evidence for the presence of Majorana zero modes in the reported devices.” This is critical as it demonstrates that no direct evidence was cited for majorana zero modes. This is quite disparaging to their claims, as the majorana zero modes are the key building block for topological qubits.
With all that being said, concerns and doubts over the plausibility of Microsoft’s experimentation don’t change the fact that the quantum field is moving quickly, with much development happening outside of Microsoft. We are seeing advancements in quantum sensing technology, neural networks, algorithms, communication, and more. The future of the field remains bright, with more breakthroughs promised to come. Therefore, the critical question remains: Will Microsoft be the first to achieve a fault-tolerant quantum computer, or will another player beat them to it?
Written by Saanvika Gandhari
