Generative AI patent race: Tencent and Baidu lead the way in China

• From 2014 to 2023, China has the highest number of inventions with 38,210, surpassing the U.S. (6,276), Republic of Korea (4,155), Japan (3,409), and India (1,350).
• According to a UN report, Tencent, Ping An Insurance, and Baidu are among the top ten inventors.
• The increase in patenting activity is due to recent technological advancements and the potential of GenAI, according to the report.

A new United Nations report revealed that China leads the world in generative artificial intelligence patents, with over 38,000 filings from 2014 to 2023.

The UN World Intellectual Property Organization stated that six times more patent applications were filed by inventors from outside the United States than those from U.S.-based inventors.

AI technology enables the creation of various forms of content, including text, images, music, audio, and videos.

In terms of inventions, China is in the lead with 38,210, significantly ahead of the U.S. (6,276), Republic of Korea (4,155), Japan (3,409), and India (1,350).

The report states that 6% of all AI patents globally are related to generative AI.

The increase in patenting activity is due to recent technological advancements and the potential of GenAI, according to the report.

China has endeavored to catch up with OpenAI, Google, and other U.S. tech giants in the development of large language models (LLM), despite being late to the game.

In November 2022, the world was stunned by the release of ChatGPT, a program that could produce human-like responses to users' prompts.

In 2020, major Chinese tech companies such as and introduced their own language models to compete with their American counterparts.

To solidify its position in the global technology competition, China unveiled a three-year "action plan" in May that aimed to enhance standards in AI chips, generative AI, and increase national computing power, with the ultimate goal of promoting technological and economic advancement.

Wei Sun, senior consultant of artificial research at Counterpoint Research, stated on CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" Thursday that China has a vast untapped market for both consumers and business partners to innovate and utilize generative AI technologies in various applications or industries, employing specialized data sets.

"The key to China's success in having real-world application deployments that could surpass the US lies in its ability to deploy these applications."

The UN report shows that image and video data led the way in Gen AI patents with 17,996 inventions, while text and speech or music followed closely behind with 13,494 and 13,480 patents, respectively.

The agency aims to assist policymakers in shaping the development of GenAI for the common good by analyzing patenting trends and data.