Quantum computing attempts to simulate the principles of quantum mechanics in computing systems – a demanding task and, above all, difficult due to the inadequacy of classical computers. Nevertheless, the field is among the fastest growing, making leaps and bounds in recent years.
One of the innovative developments in the field was the creation of Majorana 1, the first quantum computer chip that operates with topological qubit cores and can hold up to 1 million qubits – an advance that is expected to significantly accelerate the transition of quantum computing to large-scale research applications. News in the field of quantum computing is always surrounded by enthusiasm, because the use of quantum computers will offer solutions in areas such as chemistry, medicine, and construction, which classical computing is unable to provide.
A new world in a few years
The world will change. With the entry of quantum computing into research, issues that took years to research will now be solved in a matter of weeks thanks to the power of quantum computers. Research for new drugs will accelerate exponentially, offering solutions to previously incurable diseases. In the field of industry, cleaner combustion will be achieved, significantly and immediately reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In meteorology, it will be possible to predict extreme weather events months before they occur. The lifespan of batteries will be extended and their capacity will increase, thus bringing electric mobility closer. Innovative materials, which will repair themselves and thus require less maintenance, will be used from aviation to large constructions. The development of special catalysts for the creation of drinking water will bring radical changes to food that is in short supply.
Majorana 1 is probably one of the most reliable ways to achieve this as soon as possible. The chip was presented in February in the scientific journal “Nature” along with Microsoft’s next steps in the field of quantum computing. Drawing a parallel between the development of quantum computers and the history of classical computers, we can say that “we are in the era when vacuum tube computers were replaced by transistors.”
The “quantum fever” of companies
2025 was marked by many developments in the field of quantum computing. The competition between technology giants, such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and Amazon, is very strong, with announcements about the progress of each company succeeding one another.
Another major player in the industry, IBM, aspires to reach the creation of quantum computers of up to 2,000 qubits by 2033. At the moment, it is – at least in terms of numbers – ahead of its competitors because it has already presented the IBM Condor, a quantum processor of 1,121 qubits. A few days ago, Google announced the Quantum Echoes algorithm, which runs on the Willow chip, a superconducting quantum processor that supports 105 qubits. Google’s immediate goal, without an official timeline for its implementation, is for Willow’s capabilities to reach 1,000 qubits.
This “quantum fever” is also confirmed by investment data. Today, the revenue cycle is around half a billion dollars and is expected to exceed 4 billion dollars by 2030. The US government is closely monitoring developments, because the development of quantum computers and the crucial issue of their transition to large-scale applications will constitute, as in the case of artificial intelligence, another lever for exerting influence in the geopolitical field.
However, the EU is not absent either. The Quantum Act is just around the corner and it is important that a very crucial part of the research is being implemented within its territory, at the Quantum Lab.
50-qubit computer next year
In parallel, researchers at the Quantum Lab have already demonstrated how 28 qubits can work together in a computing system and, next year, you would think that the construction of a computer with 50 qubits would be achieved, a number that is considered a milestone for quantum computers to contribute to solving complex and demanding scientific problems that classical computing is unable to process.
The schedules have been approved by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Pentagon as part of its own quantum computer utilization program. It is noted that DARPA has approved only two approaches for the development of quantum computers in the coming years – one is from Microsoft and the other from PSIQuantum.
Multiple confirmed models
Microsoft knows exactly what computers can do if they run on 50 or 100 or 1,000 qubits and what solutions they will provide for a range of applications. Their data on the development of quantum computing applications is reliable and, in parallel, both the hardware and the algorithms that will allow the implementation of these applications will be developed.
In quantum computing, qubits, unlike bits, do not take on a value of either 0 or 1, but can have both values at the same time – this is what makes quantum computers so powerful but also so complex. In addition, qubits are extremely sensitive and vulnerable to the physical environment, which means that they are easily destroyed and make mistakes in calculations.
Making something out of nothing
In essence, Microsoft managed to create qubits from the Majorana pseudoparticle. We find it in academic textbooks and in university lab experiments. Its choice for creating qubits is innovative because in practice the Majorana as a pseudoparticle is… nothing.
Imagine a movie theater with 100 seats where there are 99 seated spectators and one empty seat. If all the spectators move sequentially to the seat next to them, then it gives the feeling that the vacuum is also moving. It does not exist, but it moves.
At Microsoft, they managed with Majorana 1 to transform complex, theoretical concepts of physics into tangible technology.
The eccentric particle
Microsoft is currently the only company in the world that uses the Majorana particle to create qubits. The choice seems somewhat “eccentric”, however, the know-how that Microsoft has developed over the years and the characteristics of the pseudoparticle make it, according to the researchers, reliable enough to quickly provide research solutions to the issues raised above.
Topological qubits are small in size, fast and reliable, while their measurements and performance are fully controlled with digital pulses, therefore these values are absolutely valid.
How is Majorana 1 manufactured?
The chip manufacturing process goes through three stages. The first stage concerns the production and manufacture of materials in the Materials Laboratory of the Quantum Lab (Microsoft). Its image is futuristic and reminiscent of a science fiction film as it is dominated by large chambers connected to vacuum pumps which are necessary for the manufacture of nanowires and other materials for the chip, as well as tanks of liquid nitrogen for cooling the materials.
In the second stage, the materials are transferred to the sterile Cleanroom (or Manufacturing Laboratory). The metal surfaces are stainless steel, the air in the room is filtered and renewed every six minutes, and the lighting is yellowish due to the photosensitivity of many materials. To access there, scientists are required to wear special suits, gloves, and masks. In this area, the individual parts of the chip are assembled. In other words, there it takes its shape.
The chips are then transferred to special cases in the Measurement Laboratory, where they are cooled to very low temperatures in special cryogenic chambers and undergo various measurement tests in order to check their suitability.
Universal control of the process
Since the control of the different stages of construction is done in the same place, they have full control of the entire process and can build topological cores faster. This is also the path that will bring us closer to eliminating errors in calculations, but also to hardware architectures that will allow the use of quantum computers on a large scale.
More than 100 researchers and scientists work at Microsoft’s Quantum Lab, located in Copenhagen, Denmark (EU), coming from at least 20 different countries around the world. In its first form, it was founded in 2018, bringing together teams from the Niels Bohr Institute and the Technical University of Copenhagen. Every scientific milestone is not created in a vacuum, it is not a moment of heavenly inspiration, but the sum of a team effort that lasts years.
The scientists working at Microsoft’s Quantum Lab have access to cutting-edge equipment, harnessing the latest and most advanced advances in artificial intelligence and other fields, and advancing their knowledge in ways that the human mind has never imagined.
They are at the forefront of research, yet their attention, their concentration, and the way they construct these materials one by one and then control them has something deeply, identifiably human. When quantum computers finally function for the common benefit of humanity, let us not forget that at their heart, at their core, they are still handmade.
