Microsoft's Quantum Leap: The Palm-Sized Chip That Could Rewrite Computing's Future

TECH

By Aniket Chakraborty Jan 30, 2025 Arrow

CEO Satya Nadella announces that the traditional three states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) paradigm has changed with this breakthrough.

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The new chip solves a fundamental quantum computing challenge by creating more stable qubits that don't require extreme conditions to function.

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Each qubit in Majorana 1 is just 1/100th of a millimeter, making it possible to scale up to a million-qubit processor.

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Microsoft claims the chip could enable transformative solutions like breaking down microplastics and creating self-healing materials.

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If successful, a million-qubit processor would be more powerful than all current computers on Earth combined.

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Google's competing quantum chip, Willow, can reportedly perform calculations that would take supercomputers billions of years.

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Industry experts like Troy Nelson remain cautiously optimistic, seeing it as a new roadmap that still needs to solve production challenges.

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Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang contradicts the optimism, stating quantum computing is still 20 years away from being very useful.

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Elon Musk and Nadella discussed the breakthrough on X, with Nadella calling it "quantum's transistor moment."

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