Last month I reported that Microsoft claims its new quantum chip is powered by an 'entirely new state of matter'. I said back then that I would leave it to the brainy big wigs to assess whether this new Majorana 1 chip actually represents the breakthrough that's been claimed. And I'm glad I did, because it turns out there's quite a bit of spicy disagreement over what's actually been achieved here.
Microsoft will be presenting further information at the APS Global Physics Summit next week, but in the meantime at least some scientists have been pushing back against Microsoft's grand claims. The Register reports that University of Pittsburgh physics professor Sergey Frolov claims Microsoft's work here is "essentially a fraudulent project."
