Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) stock surged 5.40% in pre-market trading on Thursday as the broader quantum computing sector rallied following Microsoft's announcement of its first quantum computing chip.
Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 1 chip, harnessing 8 qubits (quantum bits) on a sticky-note-sized piece of hardware that the company says could eventually host 1 million qubits. While the current chip has limited capabilities, Microsoft's engineers believe it marks a major step towards building practical quantum computers that can solve complex problems beyond the reach of traditional computers.
The news fueled a rally in quantum computing stocks, with Quantum Computing Inc. and several peers like SEALSQ, Rigetti Computing, and Arqit Quantum seeing significant pre-market gains. Investors are betting that breakthroughs in quantum computing technology could drive future growth and revenues for companies in this emerging field.