Tencent is World's Highest GenAI Patent Holder at 2,074, Tripling Closest US Competitor, IBM

China-based inventors are taking over the Gen AI patent race, far outpacing those in the US and the rest of the world. According to Stocklytics.com, Tencent holds the highest tally for Gen Ai patents. The tech giant received 2074 patents, tripling the patent portfolio of its closest US competitor, IBM.

The site’s financial analyst, Edith Reads, comments:

With Gen AI already catching traction from all industries—science, manufacturing, tech—Chinese companies have taken a rather aggressive approach, wanting to protect their innovations and control the Gen AI industry before it fully materializes.

Stocklytics Financial analyst, Edith Reads

Global Highest GenAI Patent Holders

Tencent is now the global leader in Gen AI patents, followed by Ping An Insurance, which has 1564 patents. Baidu takes the third slot with 1234 patents.  However, IBM falls significantly behind these companies, holding onto only 601 GenAI patents. 

Alibaba Group ranks fifth with 571 patents, making it the fourth Chinese company in the top five. 

Samsung Electronics, the South Korean semiconductor company, falls in sixth with 468 patents, 25 more than Google. ByteDance and BBK Electronics follow closely, with 418 and 377 patents, respectively, adding to China’s merits in Gen AI patenting.

China’s Gen AI Activity

While a little late in the AI game, China has surpassed tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Amazon in developing gen AI and LLMS. Between 2014 and 2023, China produced over 38,000 GenAI inventions, six times the total from the United States, which ranks second.

Moving into 2024, China is showing no signs of slowing down. Multiple companies have already launched several Gen AI projects early into the year.

Tencent, for instance, launched an image-animation tool called Follow-Your-Click. This tool lets users click on certain parts of a picture with a simple text prompt indicating how they would like it to move, transforming a still image into a short animated video. 

Additionally, Tencent is working on a project with Shenzhen to develop an intelligent farming system for ‘Silkie’ chickens, which is projected to increase poultry output by 30%.

Moreover, multiple gen AI startups have already sprung up all over China, including Zhipu AI, MiniMax, Baichuan AI, Moonshot AI, 01.AI, StepFun, and Model Best, suggesting a rise in Gen AI patenting activity in the future. 

Not to mention, China launched a three-year “action plan” this May to strengthen standards in AI chips and generative AI and build up national computing power to drive technological and economic development.