The AI industry has grown tremendously over the past years. Since 2020, the entire market has practically doubled and hit a $184 billion value, while the number of people using AI tools tripled to nearly 315 million. However, besides a massive revenue and user increase, the AI space has also seen a surge in patent activity, pushing the number of active patent families to remarkable highs.
According to data presented by AltIndex.com, the total number of active patent families in the AI tech field surged by 940% in the past ten years and hit nearly 320,000.
Baidu Tops with 15,600 AI Patent Families, while Samsung and Huawei Have the Highest-Quality Patent Portfolios
Technological advancements, expanding applications of AI across industries, the surging number of AI startups, and the ongoing race of the tech giants Google, Microsoft, IBM, Nvidia, and Tencent to dominate the AI space have triggered a surge in patent activity. The Statista and LexNexis data show just how impressive that growth was.
Back in 2014, there were roughly 30,800 active patent families of the global top 100 owners in the AI tech space. Since then, this figure has grown by an impressive 940% and hit almost 320,000 last year.
The LexNexis survey also revealed interesting facts about which country has the most AI patent owners or which company has the highest-quality patent portfolio. In 2023, seven out of the top ten owners based on active patent families in AI were from China, with Baidu as the absolute leader.
Statistics show the Chinese tech giant had over 15,600 patent families last year, or 52 times more than in 2014. This number is even more impressive when compared to other tech giants on this list. Tencent ranked second with roughly 14,500 active patent families, followed by State Grid`s 13,500. All other top patent owners were far below these figures, including Microsoft, one of two US companies on this list.
The US tech giant hit 6,400 patent families in 2023, showing a moderate increase compared to over 3,500 it owned ten years ago. The survey also showed Ping An Insurance made the most impressive development, with its active patent families soaring from only seven to over 10,500 in this period. According to the 2023 Patent Asset Index, Samsung’s patent portfolio had the most innovative strength, followed by Huawei, while Baidu, the owner with the most active patent families, ranked third.
China’s Share in AI Patents Doubled to 68%, US Halved to 13%
The enormous increase in the number of AI patents can be attributed mainly to China. So, it`s not surprising that the country has seen the biggest increase in the share of active patent families. According to the survey, China’s share stood at 29% in 2014. Since then, this figure doubled to 68%.
However, China`s gain also represents America`s loss. Statistics show the US share of active patent families in the AI tech space halved in the past ten years, falling from 26% to only 13%. South Korea’s share remained unchanged, while Japan and Germany also suffered declines, with their shares shrinking by 19% and 2%, respectively.
