Most powerful quantum computers coming soon? Microsoft unveils 'Majorana 1' chip in breakthrough discovery

Following the release of Microsoft's new Majorana 1 chip, which rekindled the discussion over the timing of quantum computing, stocks of the technology surged on Thursday, February 20. In contrast to previous statements by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang that actual quantum computing is still two decades away, Microsoft believes that this chip shows that it is "years, not decades" away. With this declaration, Microsoft joins Google and IBM, which also anticipate the mainstream use of quantum computing to arrive considerably sooner.

The Majorana 1 chip, nearly two decades in development, utilizes the elusive Majorana fermion, a subatomic particle theorized in the 1930s. Because of its special characteristics, this particle is less prone to the mistakes that beset existing quantum computers, which is a major obstacle to the development of the technology. An upcoming publication in the journal Nature supports Microsoft's claims of lower mistake rates.

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By completing computations that are now beyond the capabilities of even the most potent supercomputers, quantum computing holds the potential to completely transform computation. This potential includes the capacity to break current encryption techniques, which presents cybersecurity dangers as well as possibilities. Controlling qubits, the quantum counterpart of classical bits, which are extremely unstable and prone to errors, is the main problem.

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What did Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang say?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated during the company's analyst day at the CES trade show in January of this year that "very useful" quantum computers are probably decades away and might take 15 to 30 years. He informed analysts that a million times as many quantum processing units, or qubits, will be required for quantum computers as they presently had. His one statement sent shockwaves across the market, causing stocks of firms that use quantum computing to plummet.

The CEO of Nvidia's remarks were in contrast to IBM's forecast of large-scale quantum computers by 2033 and Google's claim that commercial applications are just five years away. Now, Microsoft's new technology and its claims support the idea that actual quantum computing may arrive sooner rather than later.

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