Microsoft said they created a computer chip that uses a new state of matter that will be capable of running the most powerful computers ever — a potential breakthrough for quantum computing that many believed was decades away.

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

Microsoft has developed the world’s first quantum computing chip called Majorana 1. The company says quantum computers are now just years away, not decades.

Microsoft has long been working on an alternative that could cut down on the overhead by using components that are far more stable. These components, called Majorana quasiparticles, are not real particles. Instead, they are special patterns of behavior that may arise inside certain physical systems and under certain conditions.

Its Majorana 1 chip, made of a new material, can perform high-level computing tasks with greater speed and accuracy, Microsoft says.

Tech giant Microsoft unveiled a new computer chip on Wednesday that it says could transform everything from fighting pollution to developing new medicines, joining Google and IBM in arguing that the promise of quantum computing is closer to reality.

Microsoft is claiming to have created a topological qubit—something engineers have been trying to achieve for years.

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.