Artificial Intelligence (A.I) is now a huge part of our everyday lives, with the likes of home pods and facial recognition aiding our day-to-day. Most smart phones now have face ID, and we can also log into our online banking via our face as a password. As a result, the industry is booming, and it’s predicted that the AI market will be worth over a staggering $118 billion by 2022.

But which companies are leading the way in innovation when it comes to AI? RS Components has analysed nearly 8,000 AI patent applications to reveal which countries and companies are leading the way in the AI race.

The top 10 patent offices that received the most AI patents are as follows:

From the data above, we can see that China is leading the way when it comes to the number of patent applications received, with a huge 4636 applications to this patent office over the last two years. But it’s not just patent applications for AI where China is currently leading, with the nation recently overtaking the USA, to become the world’s most prolific patent filer. With further reports also highlighting that more than half of all patent applications now come from Asia, it’s no surprise to see the Republic of Korea, India, Japan and Singapore also within the top 10 countries for AI patent applications.

We’ve had a look at which patent offices have received the most patent applications, but what about the companies themselves? Although China is the patent office that has received the most applications, the South Korean based LG Electronics leads the way in terms of companies, with 731 patent applications made in the same time period, making up almost 10% of all applications with the applicant name listed. The Chinese-based Ping An Technology follows in second, but with only 308 applications made, less than half the number of LG Electronics.

With a mission to build an “AI strategy designed to make life easier for customers”, LG launched its LG ThinQ line of consumer electronics equipped with AI technology in 2017. The range, which includes kitchen appliances, air solutions and their recently announced WashTower, aims to reduce the effort needed to complete routine daily tasks while simultaneously securing LG’s place in the consumer AI market.

However, when it comes to patents, applications are only the first step. According to the USPTO, approximately 52% of patent applications are granted, so the companies with the most applications aren’t necessarily the companies with the highest number of grants.

Although the US patent office comes second for application, US companies dominate the list of companies that have been granted the most patents. Intel is the clear leader in AI innovation, with 45,591 patents granted, followed by DataScience.com with 16,749 patent grants.

At 51 years old, Intel has provided processors and other technologies that have transformed the personal computer market, but as demand for higher processing power has continually increased, they are now working to keep up with the demand for AI that will go on to create yet another technological revolution. With a $2 billion acquisition of AI chipmaker Habana in late 2019, and the announcement that they generated $3.8 billion in AI revenue in 2019, Intel are clearly looking to make large moves in the AI market.

AI is clearly transforming the way in which we go about our everyday lives, with “Alexa, what’s the weather like today?” becoming a common phrase in households around the world. However, there is clearly plenty of space for companies to strengthen their position in the space, with the industry showing no signs of slowing down yet.

Take a look at the full AI Innovators report by RS Components here, where they have used Crunchbase data from January 2018-2020 to reveal which countries and companies are leading the way in applications for artificial intelligence patents, and which companies have had the most patents granted.