Google and Nvidia dominate AI patents

Google has overtaken IBM to lead in generative AI patent filings, according to new data from IFI Claims covering February 2024 to April 2025.

The tech giant has also emerged as a frontrunner in agentic AI patents, sharing the spotlight with Nvidia in both US and international rankings.

Instead of maintaining previous leads, IBM and Microsoft now trail Google and Nvidia, with Intel and several Chinese universities also securing top global positions in agentic AI. This suggests a growing international race to shape the future of autonomous AI systems.

In generative AI, Google maintains the top spot globally, while Chinese firms and institutions dominate six of the ten leading positions. Microsoft, Nvidia, and IBM also rank highly, with the US seeing a 56% surge in generative AI patent applications over the past year.

Within the US, top filers include Capital One, Samsung, Adobe, and Qualcomm.

Meta and OpenAI were notably absent from the top ten. OpenAI has recently increased its patent activity but continues to file defensively instead of focusing on patent volume.

Meta has prioritised open-source contributions rather than pursuing patents. Generative AI now accounts for 17% of all US AI patent activity, with agentic AI making up 7%.

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