Microsoft started going down this road nearly 20 years ago, and that research has now yielded what looks like a significant quantum-computing breakthrough. The Majorana 1 chip contains eight qubits, or quantum bits, far fewer than top-tier quantum computers currently in operation.

Microsoft claims that building its first quantum-computing chip required that it create a new state of matter, which it is referring to as a topological state.

Microsoft has unveiled Majorana 1, its first quantum computing chip, aimed at deployment in datacenters.