Microsoft has unveiled a new quantum chip named Majorana 1 which it claims will be able to solve major, real-world problems within decades. Though others are skeptical of the claims, Microsoft adds that their new chip design involves manipulating an "entirely new state of matter".

Microsoft’s new “topological qubit” is not based on a solid, liquid or gas. It is another phase of matter that many experts did not think was possible.

Majorana 1 relies on ‘topological superconductivity,’ a never-before-seen theoretical form of matter.

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 a new chip called Majorana 1 that it says will enable the creation of quantum computers able to solve "meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades".

Developing the Majorana 1 took over 20 years of research, combining materials science, quantum physics, and semiconductor engineering.

The company said it created a “new state of matter” that represents a major advance for quantum computing. But physicists who have reviewed the work say they aren’t convinced of the finding.

Microsoft has announced a groundbreaking advancement in quantum computing with the introduction of its Majorana 1 chip. This innovative chip promises to bring the dream of quantum computing closer to reality in a matter of years rather than decades.