Microsoft and UC Santa Barbara researchers have unveiled an eight-qubit topological quantum processor, marking a major step toward building a fully functional topological quantum computer. Their innovation lies in a new state of matter,

The processor uses qubits that can be measured without error and are resistant to outside interference, which the company says marks a “transformative leap toward practical quantum computing.”

Alphabet ( GOOGL -2.65%) ( GOOG -2.71%), Google's parent company, has been invested in quantum computing for years, but it recently made an advancement that positioned it as a standout company in the space. Alphabet introduced Willow, a new quantum computing processor it believes is a big step forward.

Microsoft and Google have made breakthroughs in quantum computing, a technology that could revolutionize drug discovery and other fields.

Quantum computing can power breakthroughs in medicine that would normally take today's systems millions of years to calculate.

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Anyone who has sat through a third-grade science class knows there are three primary states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

Physicists at Aalto University have reimagined a fundamental quantum process first discovered in 1932, making it possible to transition between energy levels in quantum systems in a way that was previously forbidden.