The tech industry is leading in patent growth, but the financial space is coming on fast. And newcomers to the S&P 100 are growing fastest of all
While IBM continues to be the patent king with 37,407 active patent families , S&P 100 companies that grew their patent portfolios the most over the past year include Apple, Qualcomm, Nike, Amazon, and defense contractor RTX, formerly known as Raytheon.
Amazon boosted its patent portfolio from 13,522 active patent families to 15,948, an 18% jump, while Qualcomm jumped from 23,829 to 29,746, a 25% increase. The patent game is changing, however, says IFI Claims Patent Services, which compiles patent data and just published its 2025. Enterprises like IBM are no longer working to amass patents in sheer volume, but looking to go deep on specific technologies. “IBM could reign supreme in the ranking for years to come, but the number of its patent families has taken quite a dive since IFI last put out this ranking—down by more than 5,600,” IFI. “That’s not a corporate stumble, but rather an intentional shift in patent strategy. In 2023, IBM announced that it would no longer seek to patent the most inventions but would place more of its focus on a few key technologies.” IBM is down by 5,600 patent families this year, while Microsoft is down by 2,200. The list is quite different for pure percentage growth, however. That list is dominated by companies that haven’t traditionally focused on patent portfolio growth. Their recent efforts have led to significant growth in percentage, even if the underlying patent families remain significantly smaller than the overall leaders.Suddenly, the financial industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors for portfolio development. It’s a sign that that banks are no longer just financial institutions: they’re becoming software, AI, cybersecurity, and data infrastructure companies as they build out AI-driven risk models, high-tech fraud detection systems, cutting-edge cybersecurity and more, including digital asset infrastructure. “Financial institutions have come a long way from brick-and-mortar branches and paper checks,” IF says. “So it stands to reason that they need to innovate in ways that keep money moving with ever greater speed and impenetrable security.” The number one focus for Capital One and Bank of America patent growth has been machine learning. In other words, AI. For JPMorgan Chase, AI is top-five. Patent portfolio growth is, of course, also a way of weaponizing intellectual property to create competitive moats for existing large players, helping defend against the army of fintech startups that have sprung up over the past five years. In LATAM alone, the number of fintech startups has Other growing patent-holding enterprises are newcomers to the S&P 100, including Palantir, which has added almost 1,300 patents over the past five years and ServiceNow, which has applied for 1,300 in the same period while being granted more than 1,100. Uber has applied for more than 1,500 and received more than 1,100 as well. Only one company in the S&P 100 has zero patents, IFI says. It’s Simon Property Group, which owns shopping malls and outlet centers.
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