Microsoft's Quantum Chief Doesn't Care That Scientists Don't Believe His Results

Microsoft quantum chief Zulfi Alam said he does not care that scientists remain skeptical of the company's claims about Majorana quasiparticles. Alam, corporate vice president of quantum, made the comments in an interview with WIRED published Friday. Last year Microsoft announced it had effectively split an electron to create Majorana particles, a step toward a topological qubit. Scientists questioned the conclusion, citing inconclusive data and a lack of peer review. In 2021 Microsoft retracted a Nature paper on Majorana particles after independent physicists found issues with the data analysis. In June the company said it produced a qubit 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor using an AI agent. Researchers continue to question the underlying Majorana work because Microsoft refuses to share raw data. Alam cited commercial sensitivity and said the peer-review process is too slow for the fast-moving field. Physicist Trevor Lanting, chief development officer at D-Wave Quantum, said outside experts can reliably assess claims. He said refusing scrutiny suggests results are not strong enough. Microsoft aims to deliver a useful quantum computer by 2029.