The top 5 patent innovators — and no, they're not in the Mag 7

U.S. patent applications cascaded 9% in 2025 after a record-high 2024, new data shows

Patent grants also dropped, according to data from IFI Claims Patent Service, down 1% from 2024. That still means a whopping 323,272 patents were granted in 2025. And while the U.S. once led in patents granted within the country, Asia has since taken the crown, comprising 60% of the patents granted here and up 12% from 2016. Among foreign companies, Japanese companies secured 42,971 patents, followed by Chinese companies with 30,913, South Korean companies with 26,147, and German companies with 14,150.

But which companies secured the most? Surprisingly, none of the top 7 are in the so-called Mag 7 (aka Alphabet $GOOGL, Amazon $AMZN, Apple $AAPL, Meta $META, Microsoft $MSFT, Nvidia $NVDA, and Tesla $TSLA).

Continue reading to see which made the list.

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Samsung Display Co. Ltd., the division of the Korea-based electronics companies that manufactures electric panels, received 2,859 U.S. patent grants in 2025, up 10.13% from 2024.

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Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the China-based telecommunications and technology company, received 3,052 U.S. patent grants in 2025, up 0.20% from 2024.

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Qualcomm $QCOM Inc., the California–based semiconductor and wireless technology company, received 3,749 U.S. patent grants in 2025, up 9.56% from 2024.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC $TSM) Ltd., the Taiwan-based chipmaking giant, received 4,194 U.S. patent grants in 2025, up 5.14% from 2024.

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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the Korea-based consumer electronics and appliance company, received 7,054 U.S. patent grants in 2025, up 10.62% from 2024.