This Week in AI: Microsoft’s Quantum Leap, Figure’s Robots, Grok 3, and AI Pin’s Demise

Microsoft has made a major quantum computing breakthrough with the development of the world’s first topoconductor, enabling more stable qubits and potentially accelerating progress toward a million-qubit processor. Meanwhile, Google’s Willow chip has demonstrated the ability to perform calculations in minutes that would take today’s supercomputers septillion years. In robotics, AI startup Figure introduced Helix, a new AI model that allows humanoid robots to perform household tasks like unpacking groceries based on voice commands.

On the AI front, Elon Musk’s xAI unveiled Grok 3, which outperformed top AI models but faces imminent competition from OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. Humane’s AI Pin, a wearable AI assistant, failed to gain traction due to performance issues and high costs, leading to HP acquiring the company for $116 million. HP will integrate Humane’s technology and team into its new AI division, HP IQ, focused on AI innovation in computers, printers, and scanners. As AI competition intensifies, new models from OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic are expected to challenge xAI’s lead. Additionally, Figure’s advancements in robotics bring humanoid robots closer to real-world applications in homes, warehouses, and factories.

This Week in AI: Microsoft’s Quantum Leap, Figure’s Robots, Grok 3, and AI Pin’s Demise

Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Microsoft has unveiled a significant quantum computing advancement with the creation of the world’s first “topoconductor,” a new type of matter beyond the conventional states of solid, liquid, or gas. This discovery underpins the company’s new quantum chip, Majorana 1.

CEO Satya Nadella announced in a LinkedIn post that this innovation could accelerate the development of practical quantum computers, reducing the timeline from decades to just a few years. Unlike traditional computing bits that rely on binary 1s and 0s, quantum bits (qubits) offer vastly superior processing power but are notoriously unstable. Microsoft claims its topoconductor-based qubits are more reliable, smaller, and 100 times thinner than a millimeter, paving the way for a million-qubit processor. Nadella emphasized that their compact quantum chip could tackle problems beyond the reach of all existing computers combined.

This development follows Google’s recent introduction of the Willow chip, which uses a scaling approach to reduce computational errors. Google reported that Willow completed a benchmark task in under five minutes—something that would take today’s fastest supercomputers an estimated septillion (10²⁵) years.

Figure’s Humanoid Robots Take a Step Forward

AI startup Figure, backed by Nvidia, has introduced Helix, a new AI model that enhances its humanoid robots’ ability to perceive, understand language, and interact with the physical world.

A recent demonstration showcased these robots performing household tasks, such as unpacking groceries and sorting items into cabinets and refrigerators based on spoken commands. This advancement addresses one of the biggest challenges in robotics—enabling machines to adapt to new and unpredictable environments.

Figure’s long-term goal is to deploy its robots in factories, warehouses, and eventually homes. If successful, this could bring humanoid robots closer to the functionality seen in science fiction characters like C-3PO from Star Wars.

Elon Musk’s xAI Unveils Grok 3

Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, has launched Grok 3, its latest large language model designed to rival OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The model, trained on twice the computing power of its predecessor, operates on a cluster of 200,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs within xAI’s Colossus supercomputer.

Initial benchmarks suggest that Grok 3 has surpassed leading AI models from OpenAI, Google, and Chinese competitor DeepSeek. However, the competition is heating up, with upcoming releases such as Meta’s Llama 4, OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 and GPT-5, and a rumored new model from Anthropic. The question remains whether Grok 3 can maintain its competitive edge.

Humane’s AI Pin Discontinued After HP Acquisition

Humane’s AI Pin—a wearable AI-powered device designed as an alternative to smartphones—has failed to gain traction and is being discontinued. The device, which clipped onto clothing and projected a display onto the user’s hand, was intended to function as a digital assistant, performing tasks like messaging, web searches, and language translation.

Despite an initial wave of enthusiasm, the AI Pin faced widespread criticism for slow performance, overheating issues, a clunky interface, and a high cost—$699 at launch (later reduced to $499), plus a $24 monthly subscription fee. Even backing from high-profile investors, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft, couldn’t save it.

HP has acquired Humane for $116 million, absorbing its technology, patents, and team, which will now form “HP IQ,” an AI-focused research division. Meanwhile, the AI Pin’s 10,000 users have been informed that their devices will cease to function after February 28.