Table of Contents
Quick Answer
- Global AI patents filed (2026): 264,000 (WIPO)
- China share: 61% (WIPO)
- US share: 21% (USPTO)
- Generative AI patents (2026): 54,000 (WIPO GenAI index)
- Top filer: Tencent (9,840 filings, 2026)
Key AI Patent Statistics
WIPO's 2026 Technology Trends report confirms China's dominance — China's CNIPA received 161,000 AI filings vs USPTO's 68,300. EPO received 28,400 AI filings. Stanford HAI reports generative AI patents grew 8× since 2020.
Market Data
Metric
2026 Value
Source
Global AI patents
264,000
WIPO
CNIPA filings
161,000
WIPO
USPTO filings
68,300
USPTO
EPO filings
28,400
EPO
JPO filings
18,400
JPO
KIPO filings
14,200
KIPO
GenAI-specific patents
54,000
WIPO GenAI
CV patents
28,400
WIPO
NLP patents
18,200
WIPO
AI SaaS patents
11,800
WIPO
Top Filers (2026)
Organization
Filings
Tencent
9,840
Baidu
8,920
Alibaba
7,640
Samsung
6,880
IBM
5,420
Microsoft
4,960
4,720
Huawei
4,510
Sony
3,180
Ping An
2,980
Sector Breakdown
Sector
% of AI Patents
Computer vision
24%
NLP + LLMs
18%
Autonomous driving
14%
Healthcare AI
11%
Robotics
9%
Finance AI
7%
Other
17%
Sources
- WIPO — Technology Trends 2026 (AI)
- WIPO — GenAI Patent Landscape 2026
- USPTO — AI Patent Dashboard 2027
- EPO — Patent Index 2026
- CNIPA — Annual Report 2026
- JPO — Patent Statistics 2026
- KIPO — Patent Data 2026
- Stanford HAI — AI Index 2027
- OECD AI Observatory 2027
- IPWatchdog — AI Patent Trends 2027
FAQs
How many AI patents were filed in 2026?
264,000 per WIPO.
Who leads AI patents?
China — 61% of global AI patent filings.
Which company leads?
Tencent with 9,840 filings in 2026.
How many GenAI-specific patents exist?
54,000 per WIPO's GenAI landscape.
Is AI patent growth accelerating?
Yes — GenAI patents grew 8× since 2020 (Stanford HAI).
Conclusion
AI patents in 2027 tell a story of Chinese dominance. More at misar.blog↗.