March 4, 2025
SEOUL – On Feb. 19, Microsoft announced a major breakthrough in the nascent quantum computing sector, unveiling Majorana 1, the tech giant’s first quantum computing chip that utilizes a new state of matter.
The new processor, powered by what is known as topological qubits, enables the development of quantum computers “capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems, in years, not decades,” according to Microsoft.
If validated, the technology could give Microsoft an edge over competitors like Google and IBM in the race to develop next-generation computers capable of solving complex problems faster and more accurately than traditional machines. This breakthrough could revolutionize fields such as drug discovery, artificial intelligence and chemistry.
What does this new chip mean for quantum computing, and what are its implications? How prepared are Korean companies and organizations compared to global tech giants?
What is quantum computing?
Quantum computing is a technology that uses principles of quantum mechanics to process and store information in a way fundamentally different from conventional computers. Unlike classical computers that use bits, which are either zero or one, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist as zero, one or a combination of both states simultaneously, a property known as “superposition.” This ability allows quantum computers to process a vast amount of information simultaneously, making them much faster than classical computers for certain types of problems.
Quantum computers theoretically hold great potential, but practical implementation has been challenging due to the delicate state of qubits. Qubits are highly sensitive and can be easily disrupted by environmental changes, making them prone to errors.
What is special about Majorana 1?
Scientists have been working to address qubit stability issues, experimenting with various materials to make them more resilient to external disturbances. Different approaches exist, with the most widely used being superconducting qubits, adopted by Google and IBM, while IonQ focuses on trapped-ion technology.
Microsoft, however, has chosen to build topological qubits — which the company describes as a “high-risk, high-reward” challenge. This approach uses Majorana particles, which are their own antiparticles, to create qubits that are more stable and easier to scale.
The current Majorana 1 chip harnesses eight qubits on a palm-sized processor. Microsoft believes it can eventually hold one million, a threshold that would enable quantum computers to solve important real-world problems.
The technology is still in its infancy, but if Microsoft is able to scale the qubits while maintaining a high level of accuracy and consistency, the commercialization of large-scale quantum computers could become a reality.
Alongside the announcement of Majorana 1, Microsoft published a research paper in the the journal Nature detailing the technology. However, leading experts remain cautious and question the validity of Microsoft’s research, saying it needs additional verification.
“In their roadmap, Microsoft described a protocol for demonstrating a topologically protected qubit. There is no publicly available evidence that this test has been conducted successfully,” said John Preskill, a leading expert in quantum computing who is a physics professor at the California Institute of Technology, in a post on X.
Another expert, Scott Aaronson, professor of computer science at the University of Texas in Austin echoed this sentiment.
“The situation is that Microsoft is unambiguously claiming to have created a topological qubit, and they just published a relevant paper in Nature, but their claim to have created a topological qubit has not yet been accepted by peer review,” Aaronson wrote on his blog.
“As for the actual implementation of the technology, we have to wait and see,” said Lee Yong-ho, head of Center for Superconducting Quantum Computing System at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science.
One major concern is Microsoft’s track record. The company made a similar claim in 2018, only to retract them later. This history has made experts question Microsoft’s latest claim about topological qubits.
As competition to advance quantum computing heats up among big tech companies and between the US and China, questions remain about where Korea stands in the race. In December, Google announced the development of its new quantum chip, Willow, followed by Amazon’s recent debut of its quantum chip, Ocelot. Meanwhile Chinese scientists also unveiled Zuchongzhi 3.0, a 105-qubit quantum processor — equivalent to Google’s Willow — in December.
South Korea is said to be significantly behind the US and China in terms of technology, investment, talent and overall progress.
According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, the number of quantum computing experts in the US and China stands at 3,526 and 3,282, respectively. In contrast, Korea has just 264, about one-twelfth the number of the two leading nations.
“The major issue is that Korea lacks a deep pool of quantum specialists compared to the US and China,” said an industry insider. “In these countries, they have trained quantum engineers for years, at both the government and private levels, but Korea lacks both. And to make it worse, an increasing number of young experts are leaving Korea for job opportunities abroad.”
A report by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which assesses national technology levels based on cited research papers, patents and qualitative evaluations by experts, ranked Korea last among the 12 major countries in all quantum technology sectors.
In the quantum computing sector, the US scored the highest with 100 points, while China was at 35 and Korea scored just 2.3.
In terms of government investment, China has invested about $15 billion in quantum technology in the past five years, far outpacing the US, which has allocated around $3.8 billion, according to a report by the Information Technology and Innovative Foundation.
For South Korea, it is only in recent years that the country has begun to invest in the technology. In 2023, the government announced an ambitious plan to inject more than 3 trillion won ($2.09 billion) by 2035 and plans to increase the number of quantum researchers by sevenfold to 2,500. This year, it announced that it would invest 198.1 billion won.
