Generative artificial intelligence is now also shaking up the global innovation scene.
Generative artificial intelligence is now also shaking up the global innovation scene. In just two years, the number of patent families in this area has nearly tripled, and publications recorded in 2024 and 2025 already surpass those of the entire previous decade, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). China is clearly leading this race, with six of the top ten global filers.The rise of generative AI is showing up in patent filings. According to WIPO, the number of published patent families – a key indicator of inventive activity – jumped from around 14,000 in 2023 to over 37,800 in 2025.
Just the years 2024 and 2025 alone add up to more than 56,000 new patent families, which is more than all the publications recorded between 2014 and 2023. Generative AI now makes up 8.7% of all AI-related patent families, up from 6.1% in 2023 and 4.2% in 2017.
“Our data shows that patent applications related to generative artificial intelligence are no longer filed solely by tech companies, but also by large companies from sectors such as finance, telecommunications, infrastructure, and other digital services. While generative AI initially impacted content, it is now set to transform the way we innovate,” said WIPO Director General Daren Tang in a statement.
China is widening the gap
According to the report, seven of the world’s top ten innovation hubs have published more families of patents related to generative AI in the past two years than during the entire previous decade.
China confirms its dominance. Six of the top ten global filers are Chinese, and inventors based in the country have published more than 43,000 patent families in 2024 and 2025. Over the 2023-2025 period, the country shows a compound annual growth rate of 64%.
The United States, however, is seeing an even faster rise, with a compound annual growth rate of 92%, reflecting the surge in investments by American companies in generative AI and their increasing translation into patent filings.Japan, for its part, shows the most spectacular growth among the major innovation hubs, with a compound annual growth rate of 210%, allowing it to move from fourth to third place worldwide.AI systems will help with data analysis, decision-making, automation, and optimization.
Multinationals dominate the race
In Europe, Germany is becoming the leading hub for generative AI innovation, ahead of the UK, thanks to a compound annual growth rate of 85%. Canada and Switzerland are also seeing triple-digit increases, with respective rates of 109% and 124%.
The report also shows that the race for patents is increasingly dominated by large multinationals from various sectors.
The Japanese group SoftBank takes the top global spot with nearly 3,000 patent families published between 2024 and 2025. It is followed by Chinese companies Tencent Holdings, Ping An Insurance Group, and Baidu, as well as several research institutes and companies specializing in infrastructure.The American giants Alphabet, Microsoft, and IBM are also among the top ten filers. For WIPO, this trend shows the increasingly strategic role of intellectual property in the global competition around generative AI.
