Majorana 1: Microsoft Makes Quantum Computing Breakthrough With New Chip

Last year I said 'Microsoft’s breakthrough with the first topological qubits and its own quantum chip, Majorana 1, could outpace Google’s brute force approach' and today's news of Majorana 2 with qubits stable for an average of 20 seconds and up to 1 minute is really promising

(Assume for this metaphor that teachers have the X-ray vision you always suspected they did!)

I was pleased with this piece because it wasn't the first time I tried to explain topological anyons but I think it was the first time I (at least briefly) understood them well enough to do it well.

One time before this piece I actually tried to explain the whole of quantum computing in a Bluesky thread!

Of course, after that time when someone on the research team got too excited and they retracted a paper, not everyone was convinced; in fact Microsoft was almost too cautious in the Nature paper and maybe didn't say loudly enough "yes, this time we really REALLY did measure Majorana zero modes" because that's the ball game...

And fast forward form February 2025 to June 2026 and we get Majorana 2 (and by 'real' here, I mean 'solid enough to go into production at scale')

quantum computing

Microsoft

majorana

topological qubit