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

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,

Tech giant Microsoft unveiled a new computer chip on Wednesday that it says could transform everything from fighting pollution to developing new medicines, joining Google and IBM in arguing that the promise of quantum computing is closer to reality.