China Leads Generative AI Patent Race; Tencent and Baidu Top List

China led in inventions with 38,210 from 2014 to 2023, surpassing the U.S. (6,276), Republic of Korea (4,155), Japan (3,409), and India (1,350), with top inventors Tencent, Ping An Insurance, and Baidu highlighting increased patenting driven by technological advances and GenAI potential, per a UN report

China has filed over 38,000 patents in the global competition for generative artificial intelligence patents from 2014 to 2023, according to a new report released by the United Nations on Thursday.

The UN World Intellectual Property Organization stated that this figure is six times greater than the number of patents lodged by inventors based in the United States.

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that enables users to produce content, including text, images, music, audio, and videos.

Geographically, China is the leader with 38,210 inventions, significantly surpassing the United States (6,276), the Republic of Korea (4,155), Japan (3,409), and India (1,350).

The report indicates that generative AI patents presently account for 6% of the total number of AI patents worldwide.

“The report stated that the recent technological advancements and the potential within GenAI are reflected in the sharp rise in patenting activity.”

After being late to the game, China has endeavored to catch up with ChatGPT owner OpenAI and U.S. tech titans Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, and Amazon in developing large language models (LLM).

In November 2022, ChatGPT caused a sensation worldwide due to its capacity to produce responses that resembled those of human beings in response to user inquiries.

Chinese technology titans like Alibaba and Baidu established their LLMs last year to contend with their American counterparts.

China initiated a three-year “action plan” in May to enhance the standards of AI chips, generative AI, and national computing power to establish a more substantial presence in the global tech competition. The objective is to stimulate economic and technological advancements.

On Thursday, Wei Sun, senior consultant of artificial research at Counterpoint Research, stated on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that China has a vast untapped market for consumers, businesses, and industry partners to innovate and assist in the implementation of generative AI technologies in various applications and industries, utilizing specialized data sets.

“That is the critical factor for China to emerge victorious in this regard; they must possess real-world application deployments that could surpass those of the United States.”

According to the United Nations report, image and video data comprised the majority of Gen AI patents, with 17,996 inventions. Text (13,494) and speech or audio (13,480) followed on the list.

The agency aims to assist policymakers in “shaping the development of GenAI for our common benefit” by examining patenting trends and data.