Critique challenges Microsoft's quantum computing claims
The critique says omitted raw data and coding errors undercut Microsoft’s topological-gap claims, while the company says its results remain sound.
- On Wednesday, a peer-reviewed critique published in Nature by University of St. Andrews physicist Henry Legg challenged the scientific foundation of Microsoft's Majorana quantum computing research.
- Microsoft has spent nearly two decades pursuing Majorana particles for quantum computing, an approach that previously led to retracted papers and internal research alerts before last year's claimed breakthrough.
- Legg argues Microsoft mishandled its code, introducing basic Python programming errors that concealed results contradicting the company's claims. He found the software "yielded inconsistent and misreported outcomes."
- Technical fellow and corporate vice president Chetan Nayak stated Microsoft stands by its results and roadmap, with Nature accepting the company's rebuttal to Legg's critique.
- Despite the scientific challenges, Microsoft recently announced Majorana 2, a "next-generation topological quantum chip," targeting a scalable quantum computer by 2029 to solve problems beyond conventional machines' reach.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Questions Raised Over Microsoft Quantum Computing Claims – channelnews
Microsoft’s ambitious quantum computing push is facing renewed scrutiny after a peer-reviewed critique published in Nature questioned the foundations of a breakthrough the company has used to support its roadmap for a working quantum system by 2029. The critique, written by University of St Andrews quantum physicist Dr Henry Legg, challenges Microsoft research published in February 2025 that underpins the company’s Majorana-based approach to quantum computing. Unlike rivals including IBM, Google and Quantinuum, which are pursuing more established quantum technologies, Microsoft has spent nearly two decades betting on so-called Majorana-based qubits. The company argues these could be more stable and easier to scale than competing designs. But Legg claims Microsoft’s software tool, used to identify a tiny energy gap in a conductive wire, produced “inconsistent and misreported outcomes”. He also argued that broader data released by Microsoft showed random noise rather than clear evidence of the gap the company claimed to detect. The finding matters because Microsoft says the gap is a key step toward creating more durable qubits, the basic units of quantum computers. Qubits are powerful but highly fragile, often losing their quantum state due to small changes in temperature, vibration or other interference. Microsoft has rejected the criticism, saying the software is a “practical tuning tool” and that its quantum hardware program continues to make progress. Chetan Nayak, who leads Microsoft’s quantum hardware work, said the company already uses the tool to set up chips now carrying out quantum computing operations. “At the end of the day, success is the delivery of a scalable quantum computer,” Nayak said, adding that Microsoft stands by its research and roadmap. The dispute adds to a history of scepticism around Microsoft’s quantum program. Two previous Microsoft-backed papers have been retracted from Nature, while editors have attached warnings to other related papers. Legg also claimed Microsoft has still not conclusively proven the existence of Majorana particles in its devices, a central element of its quantum strategy. Microsoft says it is sharing data with US defence agency DARPA for independent assessment, while maintaining that some information remains commercially sensitive.
A new paper argues Microsoft exaggerated its quantum claims a year ago
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 processor. | Image: Microsoft A critique published in Nature Wednesday calls the basic technology behind Microsoft's "breakthrough" quantum computing chip the Majorana 1 into question. Microsoft unveiled the chip in February 2025 and said it featured a brand-new technology known as a topological qubit. Topological qubits, they said, would be the "building blocks" for their future quantum computer. Microsoft announced the …
Boffin claims Microsoft's supposed quantum leap does not compute due to 'basic Python errors'
Prestigious journal Nature has published a peer-reviewed critique of Microsoft's claims to have made quantum computing breakthroughs – and the scientist who wrote the paper has essentially said Redmond got it wrong. Microsoft made its claims of a quantum breakthrough in February 2025 when it revealed tech called Majorana and predicted "this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly meaningful quantum computer not in decades, as some have pred…
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