Majorana 2 Shows Major Improvement
Microsoft has unveiled its second-generation quantum chip, Majorana 2, claiming it is 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor. The key improvement comes from replacing aluminum with lead as the superconductor, a change that was suggested by human scientists rather than AI. The company said qubits on the new chip now survive for 20 seconds, compared to only milliseconds on Majorana 1.
Microsoft's corporate vice president of quantum, Zulfi Alam, said the company aims to have a commercially viable quantum machine by 2029 that can solve real-world problems. Current applications being explored include removing microplastics and forever chemicals from the environment and developing better fertilizers. The chip uses topological qubits based on a quasi-particle first predicted in the 1930s by physicist Ettore Majorana.
Skepticism and Peer Review Concerns
Despite the bold claims, independent scientists have urged caution. Microsoft's research has faced skepticism since it retracted a 2018 Nature paper that claimed evidence for the Majorana particle. The current paper has not been peer-reviewed, and scientists contacted by the BBC said they wanted more information before drawing conclusions.
Critics note that the current chip has only 12 qubits, while a commercial machine would need millions. Paul Stevenson, a physics professor at the University of Surrey, said if Microsoft succeeds, it would leap from having no production quantum computer to being a serious player in the race for fault-tolerant machines.
DARPA Validation in Progress
Microsoft is in the final stage of a DARPA quantum development program called the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The company has shared all its data and workings with DARPA, including commercially sensitive material that it cannot release publicly. Independent verification from DARPA could help address skepticism from the scientific community.
If validated, Microsoft's topological approach would represent a fundamentally different path to quantum computing than the methods pursued by competitors such as Google and IBM. The quantum race involves major tech companies and governments worldwide, with each pursuing different technical approaches.