From 12 milliseconds to 20 seconds! Microsoft releases the next-generation quantum chip "Majorana 2," aiming for commercial use in 2029

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Microsoft (MSFT.US) unveiled multiple AI models covering different fields at the Build developer conference held in San Francisco on Tuesday, and officially launched the upgraded quantum computing chip "Majorana 2," claiming it hopes to build a commercially viable quantum computer by 2029. This chip is the successor to the previous generation research device that sparked controversy in the quantum computing community a year ago. Several tech giants are competing to develop quantum computers that can be put into practical operation, believing that this technology will fundamentally change fields such as finance, medicine, and cybersecurity.

Despite some companies making remarkable technological progress recently, none have yet achieved practical applications beyond research. Microsoft has chosen a distinct technological path—topological qubits, which is entirely different from the technological routes adopted by companies like Google and IBM.

Microsoft's new chip features 12 qubits, an improvement over the 8 in the previous generation product. However, Microsoft stated that its most significant breakthrough is that these qubits can exist for over 20 seconds. In contrast, the qubits in the previous generation chip could only last less than 12 milliseconds before disappearing. Additionally, Majorana 2 replaces the aluminum connectors in the previous generation product with lead-based superconductors.

Chetan Nayak, a researcher and executive in Microsoft's quantum hardware technology, stated, "Based on this rapid progress, we are accelerating the roadmap for scalable, practical quantum computers. We have halved the timeline, aiming to achieve this milestone by 2029."

Traditional computing relies on encoding information as 0s or 1s, while qubits can simultaneously represent the probabilities of both states, allowing theoretical quantum machines to solve complex problems that classical computers cannot tackle. However, the challenge with qubits is that they require extremely precise control in ultra-low temperature environments, are prone to errors during computation, and have very short lifespans. Microsoft's technological route revolves around the Majorana particle, named after the Italian physicist, hoping to make the chip less error-prone than other technological paths through topological qubits.

It is worth noting that Microsoft's quantum research has not been smooth sailing. After the release of the first version of the Majorana chip last year, some quantum researchers raised doubts, claiming that the chip and related papers did not prove the "technological leap" that Microsoft claimed. Additionally, some quantum research previously funded by Microsoft was retracted due to controversy.

Microsoft quantum researcher Zulfi Alam stated that the company is still collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to assess its progress. "DARPA has the world's top team of scientists who review our projects every week, delving into every detail of our work," he said during a conference call before the announcement. "We have shared all the data with them, all of it." However, he also mentioned that Microsoft prefers to share technical details with government-affiliated researchers who are not developing competitive quantum machines. "Handing all the data over to labs or competitors for replication is not wise from a business perspective," Alam said