A packed room at a meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) heard Chetan Nayak, a theoretical physicist leading Microsoft’s quantum computing effort, explain how the company is developing topological qubits. These devices could be the building blocks for a noise-resistant quantum computer. However, some physicists expressed skepticism about Microsoft’s claims, citing concerns over the lack of evidence and criticism from rival researchers.
Nayak acknowledged the criticism, saying that he never expected everyone to agree on the existence of topological qubits. He added that Microsoft is confident in its understanding of the devices and that other researchers are excited by the work. The company has announced that it created the first topological qubits in a press release earlier this month.
Physicist Henry Legg cast doubt on Microsoft’s claim when he published a report on the preprint server arXiv, highlighting flaws in the test used to verify the quantum-computing devices. Nayak presented data from his research, including “X” and “Z” measurements of the qubits, but some physicists questioned the robustness of these results.
Topological qubits are microscopic devices that harness Majoranas, previously undiscovered quasiparticles essential for their operation. The goal is to use Majoranas to perform quantum computations resistant to information loss. While Microsoft’s claim has generated excitement in the physics community, many remain unconvinced due to the lack of peer-reviewed evidence and criticism from rival researchers.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00829-2