Microsoft Majorana 1 was announced Wednesday, its first quantum computing chip.
The achievement comes after the company spent nearly two decades of research in the field.
Technicians believe that quantum computers can one day effectively solve problems that classical computers, if not impossible. Today’s computers use bits that can be turned on or off when they can be run simultaneously in two states.
Google and IBM There are also Developed quantum processors, smaller companies ionq and Calculate rejection. Microsoft’s quantum chips use an eight-topotopic bit quantity matrix, using a core of dioxide, which is a semiconductor and aluminum, which is a superconductor. A new paper in Nature describes the chip in detail.
Microsoft will not allow customers to use its Majorana 1 chip through the company’s Azure public cloud, as it plans to use its custom AI chip ( Maia 100. Instead, Majorana 1 is a step towards the goal of a million tons on chips after extensive physics research.
Instead of relying on Taiwan Semiconductor Or another company for manufacturing, Microsoft is making the components of Majorana 1 itself in the United States, which is possible because the work is being carried out on a small scale.
“We want to start talking about business reliability before we start talking about business reliability,” said Jason Zander, executive vice president of Microsoft, told CNBC.
Meanwhile, the company will use Majorana 1 to conduct research with national laboratories and universities.
Despite focusing on research, investors are fascinated by quantum.
IONQ stock grew 237% in 2024, while Rigetti rose nearly 1,500%. The two together generated $14.8 million in third-quarter revenue. Further obtain In Januaryissuing in Microsoft Blog Posts It was announced that 2025 is “a year to prepare for quantum preparation.”
Microsoft’s Azure Quantum Cloud Service allows developers to try programs and algorithms, access Ionq and Rigetti’s chips. Zander said the Microsoft Quantum chip could be available via Azure by 2030.
“There are a lot of speculation, we’ve been decades,” he said. “We believe it’s more like a few years.”
Quantum computing may eventually add to other parts of Microsoft, rather than exist as a separate category. For example, there is Microsoft’s AI business, whose annual revenue running rate is More than $13 billion. Zander said quantum computers can be used to build data used to train AI models.
“Now, you can ask it to invent some new molecules, invent some new drugs, and it’s really impossible to do it,” Zander said.
