CEO Score Survey... Over 1,500 Patents Acquired by 111 Large Corporations
As the artificial intelligence (AI) market grows, the number of domestic AI-related patents held by Korea's top 500 companies has surpassed 1,500. Samsung Electronics was found to have the highest number of AI patent registrations.
Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and Head of Samsung Electronics DX Division, is explaining AI services at the 'Bespoke AI Media Day' held at Samsung Electronics Seocho Office on April 3. [Photo by Samsung Electronics]
On the 7th, CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, announced that among the top 500 companies by sales this year, 111 large companies that registered AI-related patents with the Korean Intellectual Property Office had a total of 1,503 patents as of the 12th of last month.
The number of AI patent registrations by these companies was only 3 in 2014. The count increased following the Go match between professional Go player Lee Sedol and Google's DeepMind-developed 'AlphaGo.' Especially after 2020, riding the global AI boom, the number of registrations surged sharply. There were 142 registrations in 2020, 303 in 2021, 332 in 2022, and 403 last year.
The company with the most AI patent registrations was Samsung Electronics, with 387 patents. It was followed by LG Electronics (154 patents), Naver (90 patents), SK Telecom (78 patents), Korea Electric Power Corporation (54 patents), Hanwha Systems (52 patents), KT (45 patents), LIG Nex1 (41 patents), Coupang (39 patents), and Hyundai Motor Company (36 patents).
The AI field with the most patent registrations among these companies was learning methods (687 patents). Machine learning (567 patents), deep learning (130 patents), speech recognition (117 patents), and neuromorphic circuits (81 patents) also accounted for significant shares.
The total number of AI patent registrations in Korea also surged. The appearance of AlphaGo and the increased demand for non-face-to-face services due to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced this trend.
By year, the numbers were 18 in 2014, 16 in 2015, 60 in 2016, 146 in 2017, 307 in 2018, 767 in 2019, 1,571 in 2020, 2,992 in 2021, 3,790 in 2022, and 4,559 last year.
In particular, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) had 349 patents, Seoul National University 336, Yonsei University 287, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) 259, Korea University 226, Hanyang University 175, and the Agency for Defense Development also had many patents.
The applicant with the highest number of jointly filed patent registrations was Seoul National University with 108 patents. It was followed by KAIST (80 patents), Yonsei University (50 patents), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (46 patents), and Asan Social Welfare Foundation (45 patents).
Seoul National University actively filed patents through collaboration with industry. Of Samsung Electronics' 387 AI patents, 44 were jointly filed patents. Among these, 11 were jointly filed with Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.
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