---
title: 'Microsoft Announces Breakthrough With Quantum Chip'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=XAYh7HRjzs0'
video_id: 'XAYh7HRjzs0'
date: 2026-08-04
duration_sec: 391
---

# Microsoft Announces Breakthrough With Quantum Chip

> Source: [Microsoft Announces Breakthrough With Quantum Chip](https://youtube.com/watch?v=XAYh7HRjzs0)

## Summary

Microsoft has announced a new quantum chip called Majorana 2, claiming it is a significant step towards a useful quantum computer. However, the announcement is met with skepticism from the scientific community, as the accompanying paper does not demonstrate actual topological qubits. The video analyzes the claims, the scientific criticism, and the broader context of topological quantum computing.

### Key Points

- **Microsoft's Majorana 2 Announcement** [00:00] — Microsoft announced a new quantum chip called Majorana 2, claiming it is a big step towards a useful quantum computer. This follows a similar announcement last year for Majorana 1, which was controversial due to lack of evidence.
- **Key Claims in Press Release** [00:26] — Microsoft claims the chip has a 'mean qubit lifetime of 20 seconds' and a '1,000-fold improvement in reliability.' They also moved their expected timeline for a scalable quantum computer from 2033 to 2029.
- **Topological Quantum Computing Explained** [01:11] — Most companies (Google, Amazon, IBM) use superconducting circuits for qubits. Microsoft uses topological quantum computing, which is higher risk but potentially higher payoff. Topological qubits are protected by conservation laws, making them less susceptible to noise.
- **History and Previous Criticism** [02:05] — Microsoft has worked on this for over a decade. Last year's Majorana 1 announcement was criticized because the paper didn't present data for even a single qubit. A later preprint claiming a qubit with four Majorana modes was also widely criticized.
- **New Paper Doesn't Support Claims** [03:04] — The new paper discusses topological phases and parity states but does not demonstrate actual topological qubits. The problem is that Microsoft needs both qubits and topological states, which they haven't shown.
- **Material Change to Lead** [03:48] — Microsoft changed the material from aluminium to lead, which increased the lifetime of quantum effects due to lead's larger superconducting gap. This is an improvement but not the key demonstration needed.
- **Scientific Community Skepticism** [04:16] — Scientists remain unconvinced. Henry Legg said 'Nothing in this preprint resolves the fundamental issues.' Marin Ivecic called it 'strong marketing, contested evidence.' Sergey Frolov noted that physicists chuckle or raise eyebrows when Microsoft is mentioned.
- **Bullshit Meter Rating** [04:48] — The speaker rates the paper 2/10 on the bullshit meter but the press release 8/10, acknowledging that Microsoft is doing serious research but overhyping the results.

### Conclusion

Microsoft's announcement of Majorana 2 is met with skepticism due to lack of evidence for topological qubits. While the material change to lead is a positive step, the fundamental claims remain unproven, and the scientific community is not convinced.

## Transcript

Microsoft has a new quantum chip. It  is called Majorana 2, and according to   Microsoft it is a big step towards a useful  quantum computer. If this sounds familiar,   that’s because Microsoft said the same thing  already last year, when they announced Majorana  
1. That announcement was controversial because  many physicists, including myself, said the   evidence does not support their claims. But now  Microsoft is doubling down. Let’s have a look.
In the new press release, Microsoft says that  they have a “topological quantum chip” that was,   of course “developed with the help of  Microsoft’s agentic AI” and which has   a “mean qubit lifetime of 20 seconds” and “a  1,000-fold improvement in reliability.” They  
also say they now expect to build a scalable  quantum computer by twenty twenty nine, whereas   just last year they put that at 2033. So  they now say they can do it twice as fast!
That sounds amazing. It  also sounds somewhat vague,   shall we say, microsofty. How  big of a deal is this really? If it’s right it is a big deal indeed. Most  companies which work on quantum computing,  
Google, Amazon, IBM, and others, use  superconducting circuits as quantum bits,   or qubits, that are the logical units  that a quantum computer computes with. Microsoft instead works on  topological quantum computing,  
which is the method with the highest risk  but also the highest potential payoff. For topological quantum computing one  tries to create qubits whose states are  
protected by conservation laws. The conserved  quantities are certain topological invariants,   knots or boundary conditions, hence  the name topological quantum computing. Because the topological qubits  have this extra protection,  
they are less susceptible to noise. And this  is a great advantage because noise is the   major obstacle on the way to building quantum  computers which are large enough to be useful.
Microsoft has been working on this for  more than a decade. Last year, then,   they announced Majorana 1, a computing platform  that allegedly uses topological qubits, and that,  
according to their press release, can “realize  quantum computers capable of solving meaningful,   industrial-scale problems in years, not decades.” But the paper which they had to go along with the  press release last year didn’t even present data  
for even a single qubit. Microsoft was widely  criticized for the misleading press release. A few months later, the Microsoft team  published a pre-print In which they claimed  
that they’ve successfully created a qubit  with four Majorana modes. Again, though,   the paper was widely criticized. Other researchers  who work on topological quantum computing said,   if we leave aside the academic jargon,  the data is crap and they have nothing.
The new announcement is now somewhat of a déjà vu.  Again the press release speaks of qubits. Again,   the paper that goes with the press  release doesn’t support the claim. The paper speaks of topological phases  and parity states and that these might  
one day be used for topological  qubits. But it doesn’t present   any data that demonstrate they  have actual topological qubits. You see the problem is not the qubits  themselves. And the problem is not the  
topological states either. The problem is that  Microsoft needs both: qubits from topological   states. And this very thing, which they need,  is the thing that they have not demonstrated.
What they actually do present is that they  have changed the material which they used   from aluminium to lead and that has  dramatically increased the lifetime   of the quantum effects. This is basically  because lead has a larger superconducting gap,  
so the superconducting phase is better  protected. This is nice. But not what they need. Again, scientists are not convinced. The condensed  matter physicist Henry Legg told Science News:  
“Nothing in this preprint resolves  the fundamental issues.” Marin Ivecic,   who works in quantum computing, wrote in a  Linkedin Post that smells like it was written   by ChatGPT that it's “strong marketing, contested  evidence.” And the physicist Sergey Frolov,  
told Scientific American “This new preprint  is not based on a research track record that   can be considered a solid foundation.” and  “When Microsoft is mentioned these days,   physicists and quantum computing specialists  just chuckle or raise their eyebrows.”
I give the paper a 2 out of 10 on the bullshit  meter, but the press release an 8 out of 10. Why   not a 10? Because I think they are doing serious  research and interesting research and hearing that  
everyone just laughs about it seems rather unfair. But that is the story. Microsoft hasn’t backed   Or, in Microsoft terms: the progress  bar says ninety nine percent. But it  
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