Skepticism Surrounds Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Claims
Microsoft’s recent announcement of the Majorana 1 quantum chip, touted for its Topological Core architecture capable of packing a million qubits into a single quantum processor, has been met with considerable skepticism from the scientific community.
Sergey Frolov, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, expressed significant reservations. “This is a piece of alleged technology that is based on basic physics that has not been established. So, this is a pretty big problem,” he told The Register.
Frolov’s doubts reflect a broader concern among scientists about the validity of Microsoft’s claims. He went as far as to describe the Majorana 1 chip as “essentially a fraudulent project.” He noted that these concerns have persisted for years, particularly given a retracted 2018 paper published by the company regarding Majorana particles.
Additional concerns stem from perceived gaps in Microsoft’s submitted data.
Professor Frolov also shared that his conversations with physicists and researchers who have reviewed Microsoft’s data revealed a lack of enthusiasm. “People were not impressed and there was a lot of criticism,” he stated. The company intends to present its paper and more recent developments at the American Physical Society (APS) Global Physics Summit from March 15 to 20.
Frolov is not convinced that the upcoming presentation will fully address the experts’ questions. Based on information from his contacts, he expects the presentation to fall short of clearing the air on Microsoft’s claims. He also added that if the Majorana results are questionable, the topological qubit the company claims won’t function.
In Microsoft’s defense, researcher Chetan Nayak noted that the paper was submitted to Nature in March 2024 and was published eleven months later, in February 2025. He added that the company will present the significant progress made since that time at the American.
Microsoft has stated that the Majorana 1 quantum chip can “observe and control Majorana particles to produce more reliable and scalable qubits, which are building blocks for quantum computers.” However, the existence of these particles, first theorized in 1937, remains unproven. This is one major reason why some scientists find the company’s claims of detecting and utilizing them in its eight-qubit processor difficult to believe.
Quantum computing promises processing power vastly beyond classical computers. Despite over four decades of research, a commercially viable quantum chip remains elusive. Aside from Microsoft, companies like IBM, Quantum Brilliance, and QCI are pursuing different approaches to solve the problem.
With the world’s increasing data demands, the quantum computing market is projected to reach $20 to $30 billion by 2030. AI’s need for more processing power is likely to accelerate the commercialization. Whoever develops the first commercially viable solution stands to gain billions, if not trillions, of dollars in returns.
