Microsoft's Quantum Computing Leap

Microsoft's Majorana 2 Quantum Chip Aims for Million-Qubit System by 2029

Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 2 topological quantum chip at its Build conference, presenting it as a step toward a scalable million-qubit system and a commercially useful quantum machine by 2029. The company said it improves qubit stability by changing the materials stack, including replacing aluminum with lead as a superconductor and updating semiconductor layers, and reported a mean parity lifetime of about 20 seconds (with some results up to roughly a minute). Microsoft also credited work on refining topological qubits with AI-driven design to better tackle barriers in size, speed, and reliability. Outside experts remained skeptical, saying the evidence does not yet demonstrate true error-resistance for topological approaches and noting the broader field’s history of controversy and retractions. They also pointed out that key results are still in preprint form, arguing earlier claims have not been persuasive enough. Overall, Majorana 2 underscores efforts to make topological qubits more robust, but the strength of the evidence is likely to remain contested alongside the updated roadmap.

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