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China leads the world in generative AI patents
China registered more than 43,000 generative AI patent families in 2024–2025, with six of the world’s 10 largest applicants based there.
Image: iXBT
China remains the world’s leading country by the number of generative AI patent families, according to new statistics released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Chinese developers registered more than 43,000 patent families related to generative AI in 2024 and 2025. The sector’s average annual growth rate reached 64%. Chinese organizations also account for six of the world’s 10 largest patent applicants in this field.
The figures extend beyond generative AI. As of the end of June 2026, patents covering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data represented 16.5% of all active invention patents in China. The country had 2.36 million active invention patents in total, while authorities issued 453,000 new invention patents during the first half of the year.
More than 19,000 companies received preferential financing in the first half of 2026 through programs related to patent and trademark protection, according to the authorities.
The source also cites a forecast that China would rise to 10th place in the Global Innovation Index by 2025, improving its position by 25 places compared with its ranking a decade earlier. The article does not provide the country’s current index position or explain how the 2025 forecast relates to the June 2026 patent figures.
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Ava covers the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, from foundational models and research labs to the real-world economics of intelligence. With a background in computational linguistics, she cuts through the hype to find out what actually works. She firmly believes that benchmarks are just marketing until reproduced in the wild.
via iXBT
