Microsoft's corporate vice president of quantum, Zulfi Alam, has dismissed scientists' scepticism about his team's claims to have created Majorana-based qubits, saying he does not need to prove the work to critics. Physicists have questioned the results due to inconclusive data and a lack of peer review, echoing a 2021 episode in which Microsoft retracted a Nature paper on Majorana particles after independent researchers found flaws in its analysis. The dispute matters because Microsoft's approach underpins its multibillion-dollar bid to build a commercially useful quantum computer, and unresolved doubts over its foundational science could undermine confidence in the firm's progress.

Microsoft says it produced a qubit 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor in June, but has declined to release the raw data behind the Majorana breakthrough, citing commercial sensitivity and arguing peer review is too slow for a fast-moving field. Rival quantum firm D-Wave's chief development officer, Trevor Lanting, countered that plenty of outside experts could assess the claims, and suggested reluctance to submit to scrutiny implies the results may not be robust. Alam maintains he will win over sceptics by delivering a working machine, with Microsoft targeting a useful quantum computer by 2029.