The tech giant aims to make ‘topological’ quantum computers that will reach useful scales faster than competing technologies.

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

The tech giant’s researchers say the advance could lead to vastly more powerful computers.

Microsoft says it has developed a breakthrough quantum processor based on a new state of matter, giving it a clear path to achieve quantum computing’s long-term promise of solving some of the world’s most difficult problems.

For a field that many have long considered decades away, quantum computing sure is getting a lot of buzz in Silicon Valley. Yesterday (Feb. 19), Microsoft (MSFT) unveiled a quantum chip known as Majorana 1,

Microsoft said Wednesday it has developed a computer chip based on a new "topological" state of matter — not solid, liquid or gas — that it expects will underpin exponentially faster and more powerful quantum computers "within years,