Microsoft released its next-generation topological quantum chip Majorana 2 on June 2, 2026, claiming that with AI-assisted design, it has improved qubit parity lifetime from the millisecond range to the second range, and made a key improvement by replacing aluminum-based materials with lead-based superconductors. The company stated its goal is to launch a commercial quantum computing system by 2029. However, many physicists remain skeptical: Henry Legg of the University of St Andrews and others argue that the latest preprint still fails to address the core question at the fundamental level of the platform—whether it can truly detect and manipulate Majorana particle states remains uncertain.
The outside caution has historical roots: In 2018, a Microsoft paper claiming to have detected Majorana fermions was retracted due to irreproducibility, making the academic community highly wary of such claims ever since. Critics also point out that Majorana 2’s data mainly comes from the company’s own preprint, with no independent lab verification yet, and the transparency of key technical details is insufficient. Microsoft insists that the new chip represents substantial progress, but until peer review and independent replication are completed, the mainstream reaction among physicists remains „wait and see.“