Google overtakes IBM to lead in generative AI patents: Report

In the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI), Google has dominated the research landscape more than any other organisation, with the most number of patents filed, cruising ahead of companies such as Samsung, Huawei and Microsoft.

Data from IFI Claims, a database management company headquartered in the US, suggests that the tech giant has applied for 1,837 AI-related patents globally, followed by Samsung at 1,706, and Huawei at 1,399. The company holds 50% more patents than Microsoft, and nearly double that of IBM globally.

In the US, Google leads in AI patents with 880 applications, followed by Microsoft at 701 and IBM at 684. In terms of genAI patents, Google is in the lead, with 563 globally. Microsoft was at No. 3, but Chinese companies or universities took six of the top 10 positions.

Patent filings do not directly hint at the quantum of innovation, but point to the level of research interest in a sector.

Areas of interest

The top areas covered by the genAI patents are:

• Computing arrangements based on biological models: This technology has helped advance the fields of medicine, microbiology and virology as scientists use data and computational power to model and predict how organisms will react under various conditions.
• Handling natural language data: This serves as the basis of a log of agentic inventions happening in the AI space.
• Speech recognition
• Image or video recognition or understanding
• Machine learning

Application layer

As funding has risen in the AI sector, companies are rushing to patent inventions around the cornerstone of the technology: image, speech, text and video creation.

Nvidia leads in video and image patents, as per the report, while Microsoft tops in text. Google is focusing its attention on speech. While the tech giants are patenting in all areas, they are doubling down on only one or two domains.

Agentic AI, the next frontier

According to the report, agentic AI is the next frontier in the tech landscape. While the technology remains nascent for now, the promise of autonomous tech is attracting many companies.

Globally, agentic AI patents make up 5% of all AI-related applications so far. In the US, the number is 7%. Google leads both globally and in the US, followed by Nvidia.