Microsoft Unlocks 'New State of Matter' To Build Majorana 1 Quantum Chip, Satya Nadella Explains How It Works

Tech giant Microsoft unveiled the Majorana 1 quantum chip on Feb. 19, promising to accelerate quantum computing and solve industrial-scale problems in years, instead of decades.

Majorana 1 is the first-of-its-kind quantum chip. It is built on a groundbreaking Topological Core architecture and powered by a new type of material, which Microsoft describes as a new state of matter.

"Most of us grew up learning there are three main types of matter that matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Today, that changed. After a nearly 20-year pursuit, we've created an entirely new state of matter, unlocked by a new class of materials, topoconductors, that enable a fundamental leap in computing," Satya Nadella, the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Topoconductor has the ability to observe and control Majorana particles to produce more reliable and scalable qubits (or quantum bit), which is the basic unit of information in quantum computing, Microsoft explained in a blog.

"They are 1/100th of a millimetre, meaning we now have a clear path to a million-qubit processor. Imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet is capable of solving problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined could not!" Nadella added in his post.

Chetan Nayak, a Microsoft technical fellow, explained that quantum computing must have the potential to scale to a million qubits to tackle real-world, complex problems. "We have actually worked out a path to a million," he added, highlighting the significance of this breakthrough.

The topoconductor, or topological superconductor, is a special class of material, which was able to unlock a new state of matter – a topological state – to power the new quantum chip Majorana 1, according to Microsoft. 

"This is harnessed to produce a more stable qubit that is fast, small and can be digitally controlled, without the tradeoffs required by current alternatives," Microsoft said.

For the breakthrough, Microsoft created a new materials stack of indium arsenide and aluminium, designed atom by atom to generate Majorana particles. This approach is different from the existing models as it uses digital control for qubits, unlike traditional methods that rely on fine-tuned analogue control, Microsoft said.