Microsoft’s New Quantum Chip: Majorana 1

Image provided by Microsoft which shows a picture of Majorana 1.

Microsoft announced on February 19, 2025 that they have discovered a new state of matter that only exists at the quantum level by the name of topological superconductor yielding particles that are neither liquid, solid, or gas. Using this new matter that they discovered, Microsoft developed Majorana 1: the world’s first quantum chip.

According to Microsoft, the photoconductors and the new type of chip they enable offer a path to developing quantum systems that can scale to a million qubits and are capable of tackling the most complex industrial and societal problems. The chip could also be used to solve industrial-scale problems, such as designing self-repairing construction materials and accelerating drug discovery.

“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,” said Chentan Nayak, a Microsoft technical engineer employee.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a federal agency that invests in breakthrough technologies that are important to national security, to include Microsoft in a rigorous program to evaluate whether innovative quantum computing technologies could build commercially relevant quantum systems faster than conventionally believed possible.

Microsoft's Majorana 1 releases after Google, who unveiled its own quantum chip, Willow, back in December of 2024. Google stated that its chip has the ability to make a calculation in five minutes that would take a conventional computer 10 septillion years. Following Microsoft and Google, Intel and IBM are dashing to develop their own quantum computers.

This race to create the best quantum chip travels overseas as the Chinese government commits $15.3 billion in an effort to leap ahead of the American companies.