There's a type of particle called a Majorana fermion that was hypothesized in 1937. This particle has some unique properties, and it's long been theorized that Majorana particles could prove useful for quantum computing.

Microsoft has unveiled Majorana 1, its first quantum computing chip, aimed at deployment in datacenters.

Microsoft claims that building its first quantum-computing chip required that it create a new state of matter, which it is referring to as a topological state.