These Countries, Companies Are In An AI Patent Frenzy: Report

Some nations and businesses are leading the race to file AI patents, according to a new report from Triangle IP.

China filed 300,510 AI-related patents in 2024 versus the U.S., where a comparable small number of patents were filed last year—67,773. This data comes from a new report from data analysts at patent management firm Triangle IP.

Chinese tech firms are also outpacing Silicon Valley when it comes to patents. Baidu, Tencent and Huawei are filing AI patents at a “record pace” the report stated, surpassing U.S. tech giants Google, Microsoft and IBM.

Here is more data from the report, gathered from public patent information, (the data reflects patent applications filed, which does not mean they were granted):

Country: Number of AI-Related Patent Applications Filed in 2024

China: 300,510

U.S.: 67,773

Japan: 26,429

India: 25,991

South Korea: 23,666

WIPO (Global): 22,462

European Patent Office (EPO): 22,133

By Company: Number of AI Patents Filed (Globally)

Samsung Electronics: 6,080 (South Korea)

Tencent: 4,794 (China)

Google: 4,456 (U.S.)

Qualcomm: 3,463 (U.S.)

Baidu: 3,461 (China)

Huawei: 3,223 (China)

Canon: 3,010 (Japan)

Microsoft: 2,745 (U.S.)

IBM: 2,334 (U.S.)

Philips: 1,962 (Netherlands)

By Company: Number of AI Patents Filed (U.S.)

Samsung: 1,610

IBM: 1,539

Google: 1,485

Microsoft: 1,158

Capital One: 916

Qualcomm : 787

Canon: 776

Nvidia: 659

Adobe: 637

Bank of America: 616

Putting The Data In Context

In its report, Triangle IP added some context to the data, suggesting what it meant for AI innovation.

The data shows that China is leapfrogging over Silicon Valley with its AI patent filing. The report authors suggested this may indicate the U.S. shifting from being a major AI innovator to an AI consumer.

As evidence, look no further than when DeepSeek became a new household name. The Chinese AI startup’s recent release of its AI tool that competes with OpenAI rocked the stock markets, causing a nosedive in tech stock prices, TheStreet reported.

“AI is going through the same cycle we’ve seen before. First comes the hype. Then comes reality as the market matures. Patents are one of the catalysts,” said Thomas Franklin, Triangle IP founder, via a statement in the report.

The report authors compared the situation with AI to the history of the automotive industry: “Just like the auto industry shrank from hundreds of companies to a few giants, AI will go the same way. Even open-source models aren’t safe. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean there aren’t patent battles ahead,” they said in the report.