Microsoft quantum breakthrough promises to usher in the next era of computing in ‘years, not decades’

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Microsoft’s new “Majorana 1” processor (pronounced my-or-ana) is the first quantum chip powered by a topological core based on a new class of materials. (Photo by John Brecher for Microsoft) Microsoft says it has developed a new quantum processor based on a novel state of matter, giving it a clear path to achieve quantum computing’s long-term promise of solving some of the world’s most difficult problems. “We believe this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly meaningful quantum computer not in decades, as some have predicted, but in years,” wrote Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a LinkedIn post about the news. Microsoft’s approach differs from Google, IBM, and others that have been pouring their efforts into using large numbers of existing quantum processors to overcome errors. Microsoft is instead focused on developing new quantum technologies designed to be more accurate in the first place. “I think it fundamentally changes the competitive landscape,” said Chirag Dekate, a Gartner analyst who covers quantum computing. While the approach still needs to be proven to work at scale, he said, the advances appear to give Microsoft a deep competitive moat against other key players pursuing quantum breakthroughs. Just as transistors replaced vacuum tubes in modern computing, Microsoft has created the “transistor for the quantum age” with its latest advances, said Chetan Nayak, a Microsoft technical fellow and corporate vice president of quantum hardware, in an interview with GeekWire.