Latest news with #ChetanNayak
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Microsoft says it created a new state of matter to power the world's most advanced computers
LOS ANGELES - Microsoft says it has created a revolutionary computer chip that harnesses a new state of matter to pave the way for the most powerful quantum computers ever built. The company unveiled the Majorana 1 chip on Wednesday, calling it a major step toward scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing. The chip, developed over nearly two decades, was detailed in the journal Nature and uses a topological superconductor—a material that is neither solid, liquid, nor gas—to build more reliable qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers. "All the computers in the world operating together today can't do what a single one-million-qubit quantum computer will be able to do," Microsoft said in a blog post. The backstory Unlike traditional quantum computers that require thousands of qubits to correct errors, Microsoft claims that its approach requires far fewer qubits due to lower error rates. The chip's foundation relies on a Majorana fermion, a subatomic particle first theorized in the 1930s that reduces the errors that typically plague quantum systems. "Whatever you're doing in the quantum space needs to have a path to a million qubits," Microsoft technical fellow Chetan Nayak said in a statement. "If it doesn't, you're going to hit a wall before you get to the scale at which you can solve the really important problems that motivate us." Most computers today use bits—tiny pieces of information that can be either 0 or 1—to process data. Every app, website, and game you use is built on this simple system of zeros and ones. Quantum computers, however, use qubits (short for quantum bits). Unlike regular bits, qubits can be both 0 and 1 at the same time—this is called superposition. Because of this, quantum computers can perform many calculations at once, making them exponentially more powerful than even the best supercomputers today. Think of it like this: If a normal computer is like flipping a single coin over and over to get heads or tails, a quantum computer is like spinning a whole bunch of coins at the same time—considering all possibilities at once before deciding on an answer. This power could help solve problems that are impossible for today's computers, like discovering new medicines, improving artificial intelligence, or creating unbreakable cybersecurity. Microsoft said Majorana 1 was fabricated using indium arsenide and aluminum, featuring a superconducting nanowire to observe Majorana particles. Unlike competing quantum chips, Majorana 1 can be controlled using standard computing equipment. While the chip currently contains fewer qubits than quantum processors from IBM and Google, Microsoft argues its design scales more efficiently. Big picture view Microsoft has not provided a specific timeline for when the chip will power fully functional quantum computers but said in a blog post that the moment is "years, not decades" away. Microsoft's Jason Zander, executive vice president overseeing long-term strategic projects, described Majorana 1 as a "high risk, high reward" innovation. "The hardest part has been solving the physics. There is no textbook for this, and we had to invent it," Zander said in an interview with Reuters. "We literally have invented the ability to go create this thing, atom by atom, layer by layer." What they're saying Philip Kim, a professor of physics at Harvard University who was not involved in the research, called the announcement an "exciting development" and said it places Microsoft at the forefront of quantum research. Kim also noted that Microsoft's hybrid approach, using both traditional semiconductors and exotic superconductors, could be an effective way to scale up quantum chips. "Although there's no demonstration [of large-scale scaling] yet, what they are doing is really successful," Kim told Reuters. The Source This report is based on Microsoft's official announcement, research published in Nature, and statements from Microsoft executives and independent experts interviewed by Reuters.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft created a new type of matter for its quantum computing chip
Microsoft (MSFT) is changing what you learned about the states of matter in elementary school with a creation that it said will advance 'the path to useful quantum computing.' As part of what it calls the 'year to become Quantum-Ready,' the company unveiled its first quantum computing chip, Majorana 1, built with 'topological superconductors' or 'topoconductors' — a 'breakthrough' material that enabled the company to create a new state of matter called 'topological superconductivity.' Quantum computers typically use quantum bits — or qubits — which are usually electrons, photons, or another subatomic particle. Connected together, qubits have far more processing power than binary 0s and 1s that classical computers use. Unlike classical binary bits, qubits can be 0 and 1 at the same time in a state called superposition. The more qubits that are used, however, the more errors usually occur in a computation. Microsoft claims its solution to reducing those errors lies in the topoconductors. Unlike familiar solids, liquids, and gases, this new state of matter occurs when electrons pair up and flow with zero resistance while being protected by special mathematical properties that make them extremely stable. The new state of matter, which Microsoft has worked on for almost two decades, makes it possible for quantum systems to scale to one million qubits on a single, hand-sized chip, the company said, adding that it has demonstrated the world's first topological qubit and already placed eight on Majorana 1. At one million qubits, a quantum computer could perform far more difficult calculations than traditional computers with higher accuracy. '[Q]uantum computing at this scale could lead to innovations like self-healing materials that repair cracks in bridges, sustainable agriculture, and safer chemical discovery,' Chetan Nayak, corporate vice president of quantum hardware at Microsoft, said in a statement. 'What today requires billions of dollars in exhaustive experimental searches and wet-lab experiments could be found, instead, through calculation on a quantum computer.' Because these specially protected qubits are smaller, faster, and more reliable than traditional qubits, Microsoft said it could build a working prototype of an error-free quantum computer in just years rather than decades. The company calls this a 'fault-tolerant prototype' or FTP. 'Imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet is capable of solving problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined could not,' Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella wrote on X. 'This is our focus: When productivity rises, economies grow faster, benefiting every sector and every corner of the globe.' Despite the excitement, Microsoft customers won't be able to use the Majorana 1 chip through its Azure public cloud, CNBC (CMCSA) reported, as Microsoft continues its research with national laboratories and universities. Quantum computing stocks climbed off of the announcement, with D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) shares jumping more than 8%, Quantum Computing (QUBT) rising 7.8%, and Rigetti Computing (RGTI) shares up almost 5%. Earlier this year, quantum stocks plunged after both Nvidia (NVDA) chief executive Jensen Huang and Meta (META) chief executive Mark Zuckerberg cast doubts about the technology's near-term potential. During the chipmaker's financial analyst day at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Huang said useful quantum computers are likely decades away. 'If you said 15 years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side,' Huang said. 'If you said 30, it's probably on the late side. But if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it.' However, Nvidia announced that it will host its first Quantum Day at its GPU Technology Conference in March. Nvidia will also unveil quantum computing 'advances shortening the timeline to useful applications,' the company said. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft Unveils Majorana 1 Quantum Chip, Paving Way for Scalable Computing
Microsoft (MSFT, Financials) introduced the Majorana 1 chip on Wednesday, a quantum processor powered by a new Topological Core architecture. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with MSFT. The semiconductor, according to the business, is a step toward creating quantum computers able to solve industrial-scale challenges in years rather than decades. Using the first-ever "topoconductor," a material meant to monitor and manage Majorana particles, the processor generates more stable and scalable qubitsthe basic units of quantum computing. Microsoft stated this invention might allow quantum computers to expand to a million qubits, therefore releasing answers for challenging scientific and industrial problems. focused on a unique materials stack made of indium arsenicide and aluminum, which Microsoft built atom by atom, their strategy is focused on Microsoft stated the approach is meant to reduce hardware-level mistakes, hence boosting stability and computational dependability. Microsoft research fellow Chetan Nayak said the corporation sought to produce "the transistor for the quantum age" by emphasizing qualities necessary for scalable quantum computing. Based on reports, Microsoft has put eight topological qubits on a device meant to grow to a million. Different from conventional analog control techniques, the Majorana 1 processor lets qubits be managed digitally. Microsoft stated this would improve efficiency and streamline quantum computing activities. Among two businesses chosen to progress in the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing initiative run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was Microsoft. The project aims to create a fault-tolerant quantum computer capability of doing tasks beyond the reach of conventional computers. Materials science, chemistry, and other disciplines might all benefit from quantum computers addressing their own issues. Microsoft said million-qubit devices might promote the creation of self-healing materials, enhance enzyme applications in industry and agriculture, and help to replicate molecular interactions. Designed to be more compact than rival solutions, Microsoft's topological qubits fit inside typical data center architecture. The Majorana 1 processor, according to the firm, may interface with Azure Quantum, its cloud-based quantum computing system. Published in Nature, a peer-reviewed paper described Microsoft's approach of generating and quantifying the quantum features of the topological qubit. According to the corporation, this study shows that their method is feasible and marks a significant first toward scalable quantum computing. Long term, Microsoft wants to improve its quantum technologies and combine them with artificial intelligence and conventional computers to hasten scientific advancement. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
19-02-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Microsoft says it has created a new state of matter to power quantum computers
With the development, Microsoft is raising the stakes in what is set to be the next big technological contest, beyond today's race over artificial intelligence. Scientists have chased the dream of a quantum computer — a machine that could exploit the strange and exceedingly powerful behavior of subatomic particles or very cold objects — since the 1980s. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The push heated up in December when Google unveiled an experimental quantum computer that needed just five minutes to complete a calculation that most supercomputers could not finish in 10 septillion years — longer than the age of the known universe. Advertisement Microsoft's quantum technology could leapfrog the methods under development at Google. As part of its research, the company built multiple topological qubits inside a new kind of computer chip that combines the strengths of the semiconductors that power classical computers with the superconductors that are typically used to build a quantum computer. When such a chip is cooled to extremely low temperatures, it behaves in unusual and powerful ways that Microsoft believes will allow it to solve technological, mathematical and scientific problems that classical machines never could. The technology is not as volatile as other quantum technologies, the company said, making it easier to exploit its power. Some question whether Microsoft has achieved this milestone, and many leading academics said quantum computers would not be fully realized for decades. But Microsoft's scientists said their methods would help them reach the finish line sooner. 'We view this as something that is years away, not decades away,' said Chetan Nayak, a Microsoft technical fellow who led the team that built the technology. Advertisement Chetan Nayak, a Microsoft technical fellow, next to a refrigerator that cools quantum computing components, at the company's labs in Redmond, Wash., on Feb. 12. GRANT HINDSLEY/NYT Microsoft's technology, which was detailed in a research paper published in the science journal Nature on Wednesday, adds new impetus to a race that could reshape the technological landscape. In addition to accelerating progress across many technological and scientific fields, a quantum computer could be powerful enough to break the encryption that protects national secrets. Any advances are set to have geopolitical implications. Even as the United States explores quantum computing primarily through corporations like Microsoft and a wave of startups, the Chinese government has said it is investing $15.2 billion in the technology. The European Union has committed $7.2 billion. Quantum computing, which builds on decades of research into a type of physics called quantum mechanics, is still an experimental technology. But after recent strides by Microsoft, Google and others, scientists are confident that the technology will eventually live up to its promise. 'Quantum computing is a thrilling prospect for physics, and for the world,' said Frank Wilczek, a theoretical physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To understand quantum computing, it helps to know how a traditional computer works. A smartphone, laptop or desktop PC relies on tiny chips made from semiconductors, which are materials that conduct electricity in some but not all situations. These chips store and process numbers, adding them, multiplying them and so on. They perform these calculations by manipulating 'bits' of information. Each bit holds either a 1 or a 0. A quantum computer operates differently. A quantum bit, or qubit, relies on the curious behavior of subatomic particles or exotic materials cooled to extremely low temperatures. When it is either extremely small or extremely cold, a single object can behave like two separate objects at the same time. By harnessing that behavior, scientists can build a qubit that holds a combination of 1 and 0. This means that two qubits can hold four values at once. And as the number of qubits grows, a quantum computer becomes exponentially more powerful. Advertisement Companies use a variety of techniques to build these machines. In the United States, most, including Google, build qubits using superconductors, which are materials that conduct electricity without losing the energy they are transmitting. They create these superconductors by cooling metals to extremely low temperatures. Microsoft has bet on an approach that few others are taking: combining semiconductors with superconductors. The basic principle — along with the name topological qubit — was first proposed in 1997 by Alexei Kitaev, a Russian American physicist. The company began working on this unusual project in the early 2000s, when many researchers did not think such technology was possible. It is Microsoft's longest-running research project. 'This is something that all three CEOs of this company have bet on,' Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, said in an interview. (The company's previous CEOs were Bill Gates, a founder, and Steve Ballmer, who ran Microsoft in the early 2000s.) The company has now created a single device that is part indium arsenide (a type of semiconductor) and part aluminum (a superconductor at low temperatures). When it is cooled to about 400 degrees below zero, it exhibits a kind of otherworldly behavior that might make quantum computers possible. Philip Kim, a physics professor at Harvard University, said Microsoft's new creation was significant because topological qubits could accelerate the development of quantum computers. 'If everything works out, Microsoft's research could be revolutionary,' he said. Advertisement But Jason Alicea, a professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology, questioned whether the company had actually built a topological qubit, saying the behavior of quantum systems is often hard to prove. 'A topological qubit is possible in principle, and people agree it is a worthwhile goal,' Alicea said. 'You have to verify, though, that a device behaves in all the magical ways that theory predicts it should; otherwise, the reality may turn out to be less rosy for quantum computing. Fortunately, Microsoft is now set up to try.' This article originally appeared in .
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Quantum Computing Stocks Tick Up as Microsoft Reveals New Chip
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) just unveiled a breakthrough in quantum computing, introducing a new chip built with what it calls a topological superconductoran entirely new state of matter that's neither solid, liquid, nor gas. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with MSFT. Named Majorana 1, the chip features a topological core architecture that Microsoft says could accelerate industrial-scale quantum computing within years rather than decades. The goal? To create a million-qubit chip small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. We took a step back and said, OK, let's invent the transistor for the quantum age,' said Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow. What properties does it need to have? That's how we got herethe right combination of materials, quality, and architecture that enables a new kind of qubit. Microsoft emphasized that scalability is key to solving real-world quantum problems, and this chip provides a clear path to a million qubitssomething Nayak says is essential to avoid hitting a technological wall. Following the announcement, quantum computing stocks bounced up, with companies in the sector seeing increased investor interest. Putting things into perspective, IONQ (NYSE:IONQ) stock rose to $34.53, gaining 1.74% as of 12:54 ET. Similarly, Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) stock surged 3.43% at the same time. Meanwhile, Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) stock jumped 6.50% to $7.86 just a few minutes later, as of 13:00 ET. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
