Microsoft launches Majorana 2 quantum chip, touts speed and reliability boost

At the Microsoft Build 2026 conference, Microsoft unveiled Majorana 2, the second generation of its topological quantum processor. The company says the new chip delivers a thousand‑fold increase in qubit reliability compared with the previous generation, with an average qubit lifetime of 20 seconds and some lasting up to a minute, and can perform operations in about a microsecond. Microsoft aims to have a scalable quantum computer by 2029 to tackle complex problems in global health, food supply, sustainability and energy, and introduced the Microsoft Discover platform for scientific research and enterprise governance.

Scientific observers note that the announcement has met with skepticism. Critics point to past ambitious quantum claims that have been revised and call for independent, reproducible data to confirm the claimed topological qubit performance. The debate centers on whether the material changes truly deliver the promised error‑resilience.