Microsoft creates an ‘entirely new state of matter’, Satya Nadella calls it a breakthrough

Satya Nadella hailed the launch of Microsoft's new quantum chip, Majorana 1, as a breakthrough. He said the company has created an entirely new state of matter.

Microsoft on Wednesday released Majorana 1, the world's first quantum chip powered by the Topological Core architecture that the company expects will realise quantum computers capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades.

Microsoft has released its latest quantum chip called Majorana 1, which is the world's first chip powered by the new Topological Core architecture. (Microsoft)

Announcing the same, CEO Satya Nadella said that after a 20-year pursuit, Microsoft has finally created an “entirely new state of matter, unlocked by a new class of materials, topoconductors, that enable a fundamental leap in computing”. This is apart from the existing states of matter - solid, liquid and gas.

The qubits, the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing, measure 1/100th of a milimetre. This means that Microsoft has now made way for 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 said.

The topoconductor, or topological superconductor, is a special category of material that can create an entirely new state of matter – not a solid, liquid or gas but a topological state. 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.

A new paper published Wednesday in Nature outlines how Microsoft researchers were able to create the topological qubit’s exotic quantum properties and also accurately measure them, an essential step for practical computing.

This breakthrough required developing an entirely new materials stack made of indium arsenide and aluminum, much of which Microsoft designed and fabricated atom by atom.

The goal was to coax new quantum particles called Majoranas into existence and take advantage of their unique properties to reach the next horizon of quantum computing, Microsoft said.