Unlike traditional rankings based on volume, the Innovation Momentum report uses the LexisNexis® PatentSight+™ Patent Asset Index, a globally trusted metric that captures the quality, relevance, and recent growth of a company’s patent portfolio. It evaluates progress over the last two years, offering a real-time snapshot of innovation, rather than a historical ledger. By focusing on recent patent trends, the report gives equal footing to both global leaders and fast-moving specialists highlighting which companies are actively reshaping the competitive IP landscape. The analysis looks at just the last two years of innovation to spotlight the companies, provided they own at least 10 patent families, that are gaining the most momentum, in terms of the quality of their patent portfolios.
Let’s dive into the future of innovation—starting with how it’s being measured.
The Innovation Momentum report identifies companies making the most progress in innovation based on the recent evolution of their patent portfolios. Using the trusted Patent Asset Index and high-quality global patent data, the methodology tracks how actively and effectively organizations are developing their intellectual property. It recognizes both large corporations with well-managed portfolios and smaller players gaining fast traction. By focusing only on the past two years, the approach captures the real-time pulse of innovation across industries and regions—without relying on third-party or non-patent data. This dual emphasis on patent quality and momentum (rather than sheer volume) ensures that both emerging disruptors and well-established giants are evaluated on equal footing.
Eighteen companies made their debut in this year’s Top 100 list—an impressive signal of how quickly global innovation momentum can shift. These new entrants are innovating in areas like:
Some of the new entrants include Chengdu Qinchuan IoT, Wave Life Sciences, and Coupang. For the complete list of new entrants and to see if your company made it to the Top 100, please visit: https://www.lexisnexisip.com/industry-rankings/innovation-momentum-report/ Key takeaway #1: Innovation is becoming more distributed. Smaller, agile companies are rapidly building focused, high-impact portfolios that challenge industry norms.
Today’s patent data shows a blurring of traditional sector lines. AI, 5G, and clean energy are creating intersections between industries that once had little overlap. This year the report also featured a heatmap emphasizing the striking technological overlaps between companies operating in seemingly unrelated industries. For example:
Figure: An excerpt from the technology overlap heatmap highlighting noticeable technology overlaps of Bosch with other companies of the Innovation Momentum Top 100 companies. Download the 2025 Innovation Momentum report to view the full heat map. Key takeaway #2: Ecosystem-driven innovation is replacing siloed R&D. Patent portfolios increasingly reflect cross-industry collaboration.
Artificial intelligence is more than a buzzword— it’s a strategic imperative. In the Information Technologies sector, AI-related patents make up a significant portion of portfolio strength. Companies like Alphabet and Amazon derive close to 40% of their patent influence from AI-based technologies. The trend is also spilling into pharmaceuticals and materials science.
Figure: Selected owners from the Information Technology industry and the Pharmaceutical industry, and the share of AI-related patents contributing to the overall Patent Asset Index of their portfolios. Key takeaway #3: Expect to see AI at the core of not just tech portfolios, but in biotech, clean energy, and consumer products too.
Some of the most standout patent trends come from companies with fewer than 100 patent families. These include:
Key takeaway #4: Quality trumps quantity. A few high-quality, impactful patents can outperform large portfolios, making patent quality the new gold standard.
Institutions like MIT, Stanford, and Fraunhofer remain critical in IP generation, especially in healthcare and IT. While fewer in number this year, compared to previous Innovation Momentum reports, academic portfolios show strong innovation momentum, particularly in AI and information technologies. Key takeaway #5: Academic and public research remains a vital force in foundational technologies—often licensing breakthrough IP to the private sector.
As innovation cycles shrink and disruption becomes constant, tracking patent trends gives businesses and investors a competitive edge. The Innovation Momentum 2025 report provides more than a list of leading companies, it offers a strategic lens into the technologies, regions, and players shaping our collective future.
Whether you’re an R&D leader, policy strategist, or market analyst, staying ahead of patent trends is essential in understanding where innovation is going next and who’s driving it there. Download the 2025 Innovation Momentum Report here.
