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Qualcomm hits No. 2 in 2023 U.S. patent leaders

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

Qualcomm said it has become the No. 2 leader in U.S. patent grants in 2023, surpassing IBM for the first time in three decades, according to a new report from IFI.

Samsung continues to be the No.1 patent holder for the U.S. after surpassing IBM for the first time in 2022. But Qualcomm is a big mover as it climbed five rungs into second. IBM had held the top position for decades.

Taiwan-based TSMC came in third, while IBM’s ranking dropped down to No. 4, as its patent numbers declined in 2023 from 4,398 in 2022 to 3,658 in 2023.

Of the top ten countries earning patent grants, only the U.S., Taiwan and Canada saw increases in 2023 over 2022. China slipped from third to fourth place.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.