Nanowires are candidates for enabling the exchange of quantum information between light and matter. The rapid control of a single electron spin by solely electrical means brings this possibility closer. See Letter p.1084 A promising new form of quantum bit (qubit), the spin–orbit qubit, may be an improvement over both charge and spin qubits. In quantum physics, the motion of electrons can influence their spins through a fundamental effect called the spin–orbit interaction. Nadj-Perge et al. implement a spin–orbit quantum bit in an indium arsenide nanowire. The spin–orbit qubit is electrically controllable, and information can be stored in the spin. Nanowires are particularly suited to quantum computing as they can serve as one-dimensional templates for scalable qubit registers and can function in both electronic and optical devices.