AI Image
Microsoft to give DARPA hands-on access to quantum system at new Maryland site
Reuters • • business
Key Points:
- DARPA will have physical access to Microsoft's Majorana 2 quantum chip at a new center in the university's Discovery District near Washington, D.C., enabling direct testing and evaluation.
- This marks a shift from previous remote evaluations of Microsoft's quantum technology, allowing DARPA experts to run their own hardware boot sequences and assessments on-site.
- Microsoft views this collaboration as a critical step toward transitioning from research to commercial quantum computing products, with DARPA providing engineering rigor and trusted evaluation.
- DARPA's primary metric for evaluation is whether the computational value of a quantum system justifies its cost, aiming to identify economically feasible quantum technologies by 2033.
- Microsoft plans to commercialize quantum systems by 2029 and will use the Maryland facility to test current and future quantum chips beyond the Majorana 2.
