By Tom Dotan

Microsoft said it has created a computing chip powered by a new material that could one day be used to create a long sought after quantum computing system.

The quantum chip uses a new state of matter developed by Microsoft that is a topological state-not solid, liquid or gas. The company is hailing the new design as a leap forward in quantum computing, which could one day power computers that perform work beyond the reach of today's data centers. Researchers hope it would allow for new breakthroughs in fields like encryption and drug development.

While traditional computers use binary digits, which can either be ones or zeros, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which represent and store information in a complex mix of zeros and ones. This allows them to quickly perform high volumes of complex calculations.

The new system Microsoft developed will be able to scale to 1 million qubits on a single chip that fits in the palm of a human hand, the company said.

Google announced its own breakthrough in quantum computing in December with a chip it called Willow. The company said the chip was able to perform a calculation in five minutes that a traditional supercomputer would take nearly an eternity to do.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet rose 5% the day it announced its quantum breakthrough. Microsoft stock was up less than 1% Wednesday.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2025 13:18 ET (18:18 GMT)

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