Quantum Computing Stocks Soar After MSFT Unveils „Majorana 1”

Quantum computing stocks surged in late-morning trading after Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip. The rally is a welcome boost for the tech startups, which have struggled to regain upside momentum following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks in early January, which warned that quantum computers were decades away—comments that sent shares crashing.

„Microsoft today introduced Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum chip powered by a new Topological Core architecture that it expects will realize quantum computers capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades,” Microsoft wrote in a press release.

It’s important to note that Microsoft stated, „Today’s announcement puts that horizon within years, not decades.”

This contradicts Huang’s comments from Nvidia’s analyst day event, in which he said: „If you kind of said 15 years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side. If you said 30, it’s probably on the late side.”

There seems to be a significant time gap between Microsoft’s outlook on quantum computing and that of Nvidia’s CEO.

About a week after Huang’s comments last month, MSFT published a blog declaring that 2025 is „the year to become quantum-ready.”

Jason Zander, a Microsoft executive vice president, told CNBC: „There’s a lot of speculation that we’re decades off from this,” adding, „We believe it’s more like years.”

Zander said the Microsoft quantum chip might become available through Azure Quantum cloud service by the end of the decade.

The last month and a half has been a rollercoaster for quantum stock investors…

So, who is right on quantum chip timelines… Nvidia CEO? Or Microsoft?

Just wait until Huang doubles down on his timeline.