Technology and telecom startups dominate the global patent activity led by China, US, Canada

With a focus on smart wearables, the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT), digital out-of-home (DOOH), metaverse, robots, and quantum computing startups have dominated the patent activity in 2022. Namely, five companies in the technology, and telecom (TMT) sectors feature in the list of top 10 startups and carry most of the patents filed, as per the GlobalData patent report.

Equally important, increasing investments in innovative and creative industries has led to a need to secure these investments through intellectual property, which in turn is leading to an increase in patent activity. The data shows that most of the activity was seen in China, the US, and Canada. 

Darshana Naranje, a Senior Analyst at GlobalData, commented that their model used the patent activity to establish startup value and that an increase in patent activity could be linked to government initiatives and the speed of patent approvals, which all increase the likelihood of startups going public.     

Technology domination

China-based startup Huaqin leads the list in terms of patent activity, filing 800 patents and receiving a total of 900 grants. All of their filings were done in China, and the main focus was on Virtual reality (VR), wearables, industrial automation, and cybersecurity. 

In second place is a US-based startup, Degree, focusing its filing in Europe, Australia, and Argentina with patents targeting industrial automation, space system, robotics, context-aware computing, wearables, and VR.

Canada-based startup D-Wave Systems is in third place, focusing its patents on focus on quantum computing, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, medical IoT, robotics, and digitalization. The filings were done in Europe, the US, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. 

Finally, Naranje concluded that the TMT sector is stressed by the constant need to innovate and shift things around on short notice; therefore, to adapt appropriately, they’re engaging with startups to benefit from their agility and speed of execution. 

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