Microsoft Unveils the Majorana 1 Quantum Processing Unit

Description

A high-resolution, professional photograph of Microsoft's 'Majorana 1' quantum processing unit. The device is square, featuring a striking design with a gold-plated outer frame and a vibrant red circuit board interior. In the center sits a large, gold-colored chip prominently displaying the Microsoft logo and the text 'Majorana 1'. The overall image showcases intricate circuitry, precise screw placements, and various electronic components, conveying a sense of cutting-edge, expensive technology. This image was part of a major announcement by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who described it as a fundamental breakthrough in quantum computing. The technology is based on topological qubits and the creation of a new state of matter, which Microsoft claims will lead to faster, more reliable, and smaller quantum computers, significantly accelerating the path to a million-qubit processor

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QuantumComputing Microsoft Hardware QuantumComputingConcepts QuantumAlgorithm

Comments

122

Anonymous ★ Top Pick I see they went with gold plating. That's to distract you from the fact that the error correction budget will be larger than the GDP of a small country

Anonymous ★ Top Pick

I see they went with gold plating. That's to distract you from the fact that the error correction budget will be larger than the GDP of a small country
Anonymous

Majorana 1 keeps qubits coherent with topological braids - now if only we could braid our Git branches that cleanly, prod wouldn’t be a superposition of hotfixes
Anonymous

After 20 years of chasing Majorana fermions like they're the last bug before production, Microsoft finally ships hardware that makes Schrödinger's cat look deterministic. Meanwhile, the rest of us are still debugging race conditions in classical computing while they're literally racing quantum states
Anonymous

When Microsoft said they were working on 'topologically protected qubits,' I didn't realize they meant literally encasing them in gold-plated Fort Knox-level shielding. At this point, the hardware budget for quantum computing makes AWS bills look like pocket change - and unlike your Kubernetes cluster, you can't just 'turn it off and on again' when it's operating at 15 millikelvin. The real quantum superposition here is Microsoft simultaneously claiming they've solved quantum computing while the rest of us are still debugging race conditions in our distributed systems
Anonymous

Majorana 1 qubits: topologically protected from decoherence, unlike our microservices from cascading failures
Anonymous

Microsoft Majorana 1: the only Microsoft product where the RCA can honestly read, “we looked at it and it stopped working.”
Anonymous

Majorana 1: the only chip where “enable production mode” means cool to 10 mK and braid anyons until the error budget stops paging SRE
dev_meme 1y

Chat, should we keep that bot? Like some kind of domesticated animal
1. @HeTema 1y
  
  Sure, sounds fun.
2. @SheepGod 1y
  
  ooh so we got a robot pet now?
@mrYakov 1y

Btw, quantum computing is useless in almost all common applications. Its highly specialised things and most of us dont get any benefit from that technology
1. @Eshark22 1y
  
  That was the same with binary computers though
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  Its really naive to just extrapolate past to future
2. @Bitals 1y
  
  It's very useful for breaking all of exabytes of our encrypted data collected by three letter agencies and waiting in their datacenters.
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  True, but post quantum cryptography exists
  
  @Bitals 1y
  
  It was adopted on a large scale way after the glowies started storing everything they could reach, and it still isn't used everywhere.
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  True, but we still have time to fix that.
  
  @Bitals 1y
  
  We can't fix vulnerable data already in their hands.
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  *old vulnerable data
  
  @Bitals 1y
  
  Not a lot of sensitive data stops being sensitive in 5 years.
  
  @Bitals 1y
  
  Even 10.
  
  dev_meme 1y
  
  Was added? It's almost nowhere from being added
  
  @RiedleroD 1y
  
  you would not believe the amount of companies that still don't encrypt their internal data at all
  
  @lilfluffyears 1y
  
  And companies who store their data on google drive
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  post quantum encryption means nothing when a random guy with manhack barges into your server room
  
  dev_meme 1y
  
  It's much mature now, compared to 5 and esp 10y ago We still have no battle-proven alghs They all are much less efficient Encrypted data itself not at risk. Key-exchange and signature schemes is what at risk first of all. Data being encrypted with reverse-calculated keys is only first-order effect
  
  _ 1y
  
  What isn't decrypting data with reverse-calculated keys a threat the same way signature is ?
  
  dev_meme 1y
  
  Getting/Leaking keys ain’t a threat by itself, it depends The threat is what attacker who obtained them can do
3. @lina_inverse 1y
  
  people in the 60s: Btw, quantum computing is useless in almost all common applications. Its highly specialised things and most of us dont get any benefit from that technology
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  Its really naive to just extrapolate past to future(x2)
  
  dev_meme 1y
  
  It's not like we have any other (better) way to think about it And, as humans, we always will try to predict future to best of our abilities
  
  @lina_inverse 1y
  
  history tends to repeat itself. not always, but it tends to happen
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  Maan. This is absolutely meaningless thing. You cant rely on that. History can repeat, or can not repeat. When there was no computers, people dont believe that we can automatically process information, so they dont see any potential in computers. But now we already have really cool instrument in almost every area of our life. Excluding breaking cryptography or some other highly niche things
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  do you know how many failed prototypes of computing machines existed back then?
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  I don't think we use Babbage's differentiation machine nowadays
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  but holy shi, it was a groundbreaking technology
  
  @lina_inverse 1y
  
  yes and most of that stuff can be made with regular computers today, but still I've seen analog computers resurging. some algorithms tend to be slow and an electronic/mechanical implementation can be faster and consume less power
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  I hope you understand limitations of analog technology and the reason why everything is digital
  
  @lina_inverse 1y
  
  yes but there are usecases. an analog computer would need a circuit designed for solving an especific problem, but sometimes you might want to do that
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  that's simply impractical, that's why
  
  @lina_inverse 1y
  
  well, yes, but sometimes it's worth doing it
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  short answer, D/A circuit
4. @Mitsune 1y
  
  My brother in Christ quantum computing was never meant to replace your personal computer or even become your secondary processor. And just because it solves 0.001% of the problems of our times it can't really affect our lives? Are you forgetting the power in the hands of 0.001% of us? Our lives are literally at the mercy of the top few...
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  And they already have power to know everything they want
  
  @Algoinde 1y
  
  Not when it's unknown in-flight traffic
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  Never said it was gonna be a weapon for the rich and the powerful. Just that the problems being solved may be few in number but their impact can and will be drastic.
@Eshark22 1y

Wasn't it? (Idk)
1. @RiedleroD 1y
  
  not really, they were used to do hard math from the beginning, even mechanical punchcard-based ones were used e.g. in accounting and shit. modern computers do much more complex tasks by transforming them into accounting problems. No reason why we couldn't do similar things with quantum computers, though it's yet to be determined how useful they would actually be, since they're not inherently faster than binary computers, they can just do some stuff natively that binary computers have to emulate with extremely expensive math. So like most other advancements in technology, this is likely to be useful for some things, but not an outright revolution for an entire field.
2. @chupasaurus 1y
  
  The very first automatic digital computer (and also ALU) was binary only.
3. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 1y
  
  It was indeed. Then we made games run on them lmfao and social media
@Vetalkost 1y

Majorana fermions, topological insulators, topologically protected electron states in a channel at the edge of an inverted band quantum wells - time has finally come ... maybe ...
1. @a_646_man 1y
  
  Sounds to me like former academic physicians went for hype money and are trying to hide hoax behind scientific terms
@saniel42 1y

No
1. @SomeWhereIBelong 1y
  
  Useless
@Strangerx 1y

A couple of reflections on the quantum computing breakthrough we just announced... Most of us grew up learning there are three main types of matter that matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Well, today, that changed — and not because someone left the freezer open. After nearly 20 years of relentless pursuit (and probably way too much coffee), we’ve created an entirely new state of matter, unlocked by a revolutionary new class of materials: memeconductors. Yes, you heard that right. These materials harness the raw, unpredictable power of internet memes, enabling a fundamental leap in computing. Introducing Marijuana 1, the first quantum processing unit built on a, uh, “highly” topological core. 🍃 We believe this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly mind-blowing quantum computer not in decades, as some buzzkills have predicted, but in years. And unlike your friend who said they'd pay you back in Bitcoin, this is real. The qubits created with memeconductors are faster, more reliable, and way smaller. They’re just 1/100th of a millimeter, meaning we now have a clear path to a million-qubit processor. That's right—quantum computing just got pocket-sized. Take that, iPhone! 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! Like, maybe it could finally figure out what the heck is going on in "Tenet." Of course, breakthroughs like this don’t just happen overnight. It takes patience, persistence, and the kind of optimism you only get from reading motivational quotes on Instagram. But at Microsoft, we’re here for the long game. This isn't about hyping tech; it’s about building technology that truly serves the world—one dank meme at a time. Stay tuned. The future just got a lot more interesting. And, possibly, a bit gigglier.
@gmayv 1y

All I read was: pls buy our stock
@HatKid 1y

why would i need a portable quantum chip that solves kind of problems that computers can't solve bruh
1. @Mitsune 1y
  
  Are you claiming your portable computing system is capable of creating near absolute 0 temperatures? Yeah they keep saying it can fit in your palm to hype it up but no one ever said that your laptop is or ever would be capable of sustaining quantum states.
  
  @HatKid 1y
  
  so it't not really a computer but...a fridge? :)
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  It's a computer that requires the most expensive and sophisticated fridge we'll ever hear about
@Le_o_R 1y

Everything does.
@mrYakov 1y

Btw, if quantum computer will run doom, it should look like: We simulate every possible gamer move at same time, player cant see anything, when player want to see game state, it will randomly choose from every game state possible.
1. dev_meme 1y
  
  But we already have it! Did you tried games running on video-generation models that are feeded with user's input?
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  No, neural networks produce smooth but cursed gameplay. This is exact opposite, every time you want to see a game state, it gives absolutely correct state, but just random one.
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  I saw AI minecraft. If you stare into something yellow or red AI will think it is nether and generate nether lmao
  
  @azizhakberdiev 1y
  
  but anyway, extremely costly on resources, yet fails to precisely reproduce original game properly. AI field has a lot of time and money to spend on that useless stuff
@mrYakov 1y

truly unique gaming experience
アレックス 1y

>not about hyping tech >hypes tech
@mrYakov 1y

And what ? Point is, almost all existing areas already have tools. Quantum computers dont replace that tools. Regular computer close 99.99999% of our information processing requests.
1. @lina_inverse 1y
  
  yes but sometimes those tools are slow, for things like numerical analysis, optimization problems or simulating quantic systems, regular computers are slow
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  And this does not change my words. Niche tools make a minor contribution to our lives. No radical changes will happen from the advent of a quantum computer.
  
  @lina_inverse 1y
  
  not inmediatly, but in the long run we don't know
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  O, yea, yea, this is exactly the routine tasks every people solve every day.
2. @Eshark22 1y
  
  But it could be, its nice to think we are near another revolution like the one the original computers brought
@mrYakov 1y

Its like comparing car and rocket. We dont fly on space rocket in shop. We can do that, but car do it better
1. @Mitsune 1y
  
  Can you drive a satellite to space in the back seat of your car? And just because most of us don't have personal satellites does that make it utterly useless?
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  Damn, this is so annoying. To attribute a false thesis to me and heroically refute it. I never said that quantum computers are utterly useless, I said that they have a very narrow specialization that will not have any effect on us.
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  > it will never affect any of us > When did I say it's useless?
  
  @mrYakov 1y
  
  Bro, how much your life changed after, for example, falcon 9 launch ? I suspect, falcon 9 launch absolutely nothing changed in your life. Same thing with quantum computing.
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  I grew my foreskin back
@RiedleroD 1y

blud doesn't even know what plasma is, nor what defines a state of matter
@RiedleroD 1y

probably in the future, sure. I don't think that's currently possible though
@Eshark22 1y

Ofcouse we can't predict the future, and whether or not it will be the next big thing
1. @qtsmolcat 1y
  
  You can't?
  
  @Eshark22 1y
  
  Not accurately 😭
2. @sylfn 1y
  
  we can, just the quality of predictions might be bad
  
  @Hollow_Arigo 1y
  
  with 90% failure rate
  
  @qtsmolcat 1y
  
  Nobody said anything about being correct 😒
@Eshark22 1y

Maybe quantum computing will help us
1. @mira_the_cat 1y
  
  make training LLMs more efficient 👍
@fleebz 1y

topological qubits are also called topological photonics and do Not scale well and do not have all-to-all connectivity. it's cool though. but a shame microsoft had to be involved
@fleebz 1y

also "fit in the palm of your hand" is a stretch unless you wanna freeze your hand off in a vacuum chamber
@Mitsune 1y

Y'all just hatin
1. @HatKid 1y
  
  no, i just don't really understand the point of portable quantum pc
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  It never said it was gonna be
@HatKid 1y

i mean, i don't think i will have any tasks in my life that requires a quantum computer, but maybe something changes, idk.
1. @Mitsune 1y
  
  Are you pinging your nearest satellite on a daily basis?
  
  @HatKid 1y
  
  yeah, sometimes, but maybe i should get it out from my garage and throw away
  
  @Mitsune 1y
  
  Exactly! Just because you don't have it in your garage doesn't mean it's utterly useless
@bekzat_karayev 1y

It is like with fusion, "always 10 years away from being 10 years away". They will just show some "prototype" or "breakthrough" from time to time, just to get another billion dollars from investors
@mira_the_cat 1y

why not deepseek/minimax/qwen developers? 😄
@yontouryuu 1y

> Microsoft > it's about building technology that truly serves the world Go back to w11 bruh
1. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 1y
  
  Fr😭🗿
@spacenuke 1y

The only useful quantum computers are quantum annealers
1. @qtsmolcat 1y
  
  Don't you hate when development of entirely new systems takes a long time and happens in incremental steps, instead of magically appearing one day?
  
  @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 1y
  
  Fr
  
  @spacenuke 1y
  
  Ten years ago IBM had a system about this size. They’ve maybe doubled it since. It still does nothing useful. Meanwhile the D-Wave machines can solve useful optimization problems like bin packing, scheduling, etc. now. Yet somehow, huge advances like their Advantage 2 machine get totally ignored while 8 useless topological qubits gets everyone frothing at the mouth.
@spacenuke 1y

Gate model machines have no interesting near term applications until they actually get to a million qubits and Microsoft’s pathetic 8 is a far cry from that
@spacenuke 1y

Only D-Wave is making a device worth actually using
@spacenuke 1y

Gate model is not even that interesting. Yes, Shor’s algorithm may be able to factor numbers for us and defeat some cryptography; is that a good thing? Does that advance the species somehow? Especially in light of post quantum encryption existing, it doesn’t seem like it’s that amazing of a thing to accomplish even if they did get there.
@spacenuke 1y

Gate model is not even that interesting. Yes, Shor’s algorithm may be able to factor numbers for us and defeat some cryptography; is that a good thing? Does that advance the species somehow? Especially in light of post quantum encryption existing, it doesn’t seem like it’s that amazing of a thing to accomplish even if they did get there.
1. @Mitsune 1y
  
  Man why does everyone think quantum computing could only ever be useful for breaking encryption.
  
  @mira_the_cat 1y
  
  probably because it's the most obvious and scary combinatorial problem for most. I'd say it would be cool to train LLMs on them as i heard they are good at optimization problems
@iovi_iovi 1y

💩
@bad94e81 1y

Fake + Gay Microsoft had been pushing those articles for ages, they've been called out on unscientific untestable unproven results several times
1. @RiedleroD 1y
  
  "gay" is a little mean but ok
  
  @bad94e81 1y
  
  Only a little
@Kingjojoun 1y

Will it be as good as the tread ripper (I have little knowledge about computers)
1. @RiedleroD 1y
  
  no
@colllapse 1y

so far experts consider it hoax - related papers were retracted, and there are inconsistecies within their measurements as well as no proof of existence of majorana modes.
1. @RiedleroD 1y
  
  bruh
  
  @colllapse 1y
  
  what

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Microsoft Unveils the Majorana 1 Quantum Processing Unit

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