Microsoft Unveils the Majorana 1 Quantum Chip, Powered by the World’s First Topoconductor - Topoconductors represent the biggest material breakthrough in computing since silicon.
Today, Microsoft has unveiled the Majorana [MY-uh-RON-uh] 1, a revolutionary quantum chip. It’s powered by the world’s first topoconductor, a novel class of material that will reduce the time of impact for a truly transformative quantum computer to years, not decades.
A Topoconductor – or TSC (Topological Superconductor) – is an entirely new state of matter, representing the biggest material breakthrough in computing since silicon. It’s not a solid, liquid, or gas, but a topological state – which has been theorized for nearly 100 years but has eluded scientists until now.
Just like semiconductors enabled the creation of electronics and classical computers, this revolutionary new class of material will enable quantum systems that can scale to 1 million qubits [CUE-bits]. The technology will help tackle society’s most complex problems – in domains like energy, materials, consumer products, and health care – and could lead to innovation in areas like self-healing materials, sustainable agriculture, plastic cleanup, and chemical discovery.
Following Microsoft and Atom Computing’s announcement of the first commercial reliable quantum computer last year, this scientific breakthrough enables the creation of smaller, faster, and more stable qubits. The world’s first qubits created with topoconductors fit in 1/100th of a millimeter. They are reliable by design, incorporate hardware-based error resistance, and are controlled digitally.
Microsoft is also sharing academic and government validation for this breakthrough. A peer-reviewed paper publishing in science journal Nature provides validation for Microsoft’s bet on its topoconductor qubit approach. In addition, the U.S. Government (DARPA) selected Microsoft’s topoconductor approach to unlock the nation's path to utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing.
This video contains:
00:14 Footage of the Microsoft Majorana 1
01:59 A rendering of the Microsoft Majorana 1 quantum chip
02:33 Footage of Microsoft's Quantum Lab
04:29 Footage of Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, WA
19 February 2025
