Quantum Computing 2025: The Rise of Archer’s Carbon Qubits Against Microsoft’s Majorana 1

There was a surprise in the works for the quantum computing industry this morning for many investors when they woke up to a fresh new spike across a swath of quantum computing companies trading on US and Canadian markets. A little jolt to sip with their coffee, you might say. So, what kicked off this party? Simple answer: Microsoft dropped a tech bombshell. Within moments of the jump-start, they unveiled their shiny new toy—the Majorana quantum computing chip.

This news hit like a lightning bolt, and it’s revealing something kinda wild about the quantum side of Western markets. You see, we’d been slogging through a quantum downturn since 2025 kicked off—about six weeks of gloom—and apparently, we were primed for the perfect reset switch. That switch? Microsoft waving some quantum sparkle. Only moments after their 19 Feb. announcement, the market went zip-zap in near real-time. Now, I’m not gonna play fortune teller and guess why they picked now to drop this, but let’s at least flirt with the idea that this tech’s got some real meat on its bones—enough to matter for the whole darn industry. Stick with me here; there’s a chance you might pick up something neat if you do.

One big boast from Microsoft’s camp is their proof-of-concept showing off individual qubit control with a slick digital readout. Why’s that a big deal? Well, it’s all about signaling and sensing tech that zaps just the right voltage pulse whenever a qubit needs a nudge. That’s a pretty hefty innovation for their chip game, boosting their odds of hitting that million-qubit dreamland. But hold up—does this mean Microsoft’s the only genius in the room? Heck no! In fact, their big reveal came hot on the heels of an Australian outfit called Archer Materials Limited, who basically threw down a similar gauntlet six days earlier. Yep, Archer beat ‘em to the punch on 13 Feb. with their own wave of quantum tech focus.

The race is on, folks—mass-producing quantum chips that don’t need a cryogenic babysitter. That’s the golden ticket to handheld, mobile quantum gadgets, like Microsoft hinted at. Archer’s been eyeballing this prize for years, since about 2016, with a downright obsession for room-temperature quantum mojo. Flashback to July 2016 [DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12232], when a former Archer CEO and some brainy pals dropped a Nature Communications piece hyping “Room temperature manipulation of long lifetime spins in metallic-like carbon nanospheres.” Skip ahead nine years, and Archer’s 13 Feb. 2025 ASX announcement screams progress: “Archer demonstrates spin detection using resonant circuits.” Their guy Greg English spills the beans on tweaking quantum spin states in their carbon-based qubit film, blending resonant circuits with microwave pulse tricks to nail individual qubit control.

Now, this ASX drop—just six days before Microsoft’s stock-surging splash—oughta tell you something. People, people, people: Archer’s onto the goods! They’re currently hammering a mainstream-ish cryogenic approach to prove their carbon film’s got the chops. They’re leaning on sensing, control, and readout tricks that, tech-wise, sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Microsoft’s Majorana—at least in terms of tackling the right problems for today’s quantum chip scene. Microsoft’s got the cash, sure—piles of it—and they’ve flexed that muscle to demo their readout tech on an 8-qubit chip. Archer? They’re gunning for their own proof-of-concept, eyeing a functional qubit target in 2026. See the parallels? The market might need a nudge to catch the drift here.

Microsoft’s crowing about the world’s first “topoconductor”—a fancy mashup tied to harnessing Majorana particles for stabler, scalable qubits. That “topo” bit? We’re guessing it’s a wink at topological qubit tricks, maybe letting them sense and steer Majorana states in real-time—kinda all together, kinda one at a time. It’s less about tweaking every qubit like a DJ spinning tracks and more about weaving those Majorana vibes into something fault-tolerant, with a readout twist that keeps it practical. Archer’s tech path has its own spin on readout, sensing, and control, just with a carbon twist instead of Majorana flair—for now. Archer’s got synonymous methods; it’s mostly a material swap. Point is, by February 2026, Archer could strut out with something like, “We just unveiled the world’s first inter-iso-carby-conducter, tapping the Coulomb Blockade phenomenon for killer qubits.” (That phenomenon bit’s already in the bag per their 30 Oct. 2024 ASX update—just not the conductor part yet.) That’s why their 12CQ chip could shake things up sooner than you think.

Does Microsoft have the upper hand? Oh, you bet—resources out the wazoo. But does Archer have something special brewing? You better believe it! Their edge is a savvy focus on carbon—cheap, plentiful, and primed for quantum tricks. Right now, they’re nailing cryogenic control for their carbon film, but once the QC chip cash starts flowing—say, 2027—don’t be shocked if they swing back to the “unplugged” dream: room-temperature feasibility. Back in 2023, they bragged, “Archer Achieves Qubit Material Functionality at Room Temperature in Air.” If any crew’s got a shot at that, it’s them. Maybe some big-shot AI players in the West might wanna cozy up to Archer for a collab—who knows?

References

• • Bolgar, C. (2025, February 19). Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip carves new path for quantum computing. Microsoft Source. https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/ai/microsofts-majorana-1-chip-carves-new-path-for-quantum-computing/

• • Archer Materials Limited. (2025, February 13). Archer demonstrates spin detection using resonant circuits: A key step toward building a qubit for use in a quantum computer [ASX Announcement]. Australian Securities Exchange. https://company-announcements.afr.com/asx/axe/8322d567-e992-11ef-bad1-e21e95c6ff03.pdf

• • Craig, M. (2023, June 8). Archer achieves qubit material functionality at room temperature in air [Archer Materials Limited]. https://archerx.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/20230608_Archer-achieves-major-coherence-time-milestone-ASX-Release.pdf

• • Archer Materials: Chasing a world-first in quantum computing, By Alan Kohler, INTELLIGENT INVESTOR · 7 May 2020.
  • Room temperature manipulation of long lifetime spins in metallic-like carbon nanospheres, Bálint Náfrádi, Mohammad Choucair, Klaus-Peter Dinse & László Forró, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS · 18 Jul 2016, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12232.