Microsoft has announced a significant breakthrough in quantum computing: the creation of the first "topological qubits." Unlike conventional quantum bits, these qubits store information using an exotic state of matter.

Microsoft researchers say they created a chip that leverages a new state of matter that could underpin quantum computers more powerful than the world has ever seen. The chip employs a so-called “topological superconductor”—a material that isn’t a solid,

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.