Quantum Computing Processor Patent Landscape 2026
Quantum Computing Processor Patent Landscape in 2026
The quantum computing processor patent space is heavily concentrated: the top five filers among the hundred largest filers account for 67% of that group’s combined total, with the Strong Force portfolio entities collectively dominating the ranking. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis — recent-window filings sit 76% above the prior window — though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak.
Strong Force portfolio entities lead a highly concentrated field
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC holds the top position with 92 patent families, placing it well ahead of every other filer in scope. The next four ranked applicants — Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC, Quantum Digital Solutions Corp, Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC, and Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC — together with the leader account for 67% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total.
The tier gap between the Strong Force cluster and the remaining players is pronounced. Google LLC and LiquidX Inc, both sitting at 7 patent families, represent the first recognizable non-portfolio technology companies in the ranking, indicating that mainstream semiconductor and quantum hardware firms have so far made limited formal IP commitments in this particular corpus.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC | 92 | |
| 2 | Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC | 45 | |
| 3 | Quantum Digital Solutions Corp | 39 | |
| 4 | Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC | 33 | |
| 5 | Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC | 26 | |
| 6 | Strong Force TP Portfolio 2022 LLC | 16 | |
| 7 | Optios Inc | 8 | |
| 8 | Google LLC | 7 | |
| 9 | LiquidX Inc | 7 | |
| 10 | Splashlight Holdings LLC | 6 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | William Edward Quigley | 5 | |
| 12 | Lukasz Jakub Sliwka | 5 | |
| 13 | Boodle Inc | 5 | |
| 14 | Mocsy Inc | 4 | |
| 15 | New York Digital Investment Group LLC | 4 | |
| 16 | IMRSV Data Labs Inc | 4 | |
| 17 | Unanimous AI Inc | 3 | |
| 18 | X Development LLC | 3 | |
| 19 | Hygiene IQ LLC | 3 | |
| 20 | Nicholas John Teague | 3 |
The dominance of patent-portfolio entities rather than operating hardware companies suggests that the formal IP landscape here skews toward application-layer and AI-assisted computing claims. Engineers evaluating freedom-to-operate or partnership targets will need to assess portfolio-assertion risk alongside technology-development trajectories.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are under-represented due to publication lag; the apparent drop in 2024–2026 data should not be read as a real decline in activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth driven by AI-computing and business-application claims
Annual filing volume grew from a negligible base in 2017 to a 2023 peak, with the multi-year recent window running 76% above the prior window. The technology composition reveals that AI-model computing (G06N) and business-data processing (G06Q) dominate, while core hardware classes remain thin.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed sharply from 2019 onward, reaching a peak in 2023 at 77 records before the 2024 and 2025 figures — which are artificially depressed by publication lag — show lower counts. The multi-year growth of 76% confirms the field is still in expansion on a structural basis; do not interpret the post-2023 dip as a real slowdown.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G06N (AI-model computing) accounts for the largest share of IPC-tagged records, followed by G06Q (business and commerce data processing) and G06F (general digital data processing). Hardware-oriented classes such as H01L (semiconductor devices), H01P (waveguides), and H10N (solid-state devices) appear at very low counts, pointing to an application-software emphasis in the corpus rather than a qubit-hardware emphasis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Chips including classical and quantum computing pr…
An apparatus includes a substrate, a classical computing processor formed on the substrate, a quantum computing processor formed on the substrate, and one or more coupling components between the classical computing processor and the quantum computing processor, the one or more coupling components being formed on the substrate and being configured to allow… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Platform for facilitating development of intellige… | 721 |
| 2 | Intelligent vibration digital twin systems and met… | 694 |
| 3 | Methods, systems, kits and apparatuses for monitor… | 546 |
| 4 | Methods and systems for data collection, learning,… | 506 |
| 5 | Control tower and enterprise management platform w… | 330 |
| 6 | Robot Fleet Management for Value Chain Networks | 322 |
| 7 | Transaction platforms where systems include sets o… | 218 |
| 8 | Systems and methods for detecting occupancy using … | 191 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
United States–centric jurisdiction profile shapes where engineering investment can be differentiated.
Growth stage, easing from 2023 peak
The field is classified as Growth: recent-window filings sit 76% above the prior window, confirming structural expansion. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, though publication lag means the true 2024–2025 activity level is understated. R&D teams entering now face an established but not yet saturated filing environment.
Life-cycle: GrowthPortfolio entities hold a 67% commanding share among top filers
The top five filers among the hundred largest filers hold 67% of that group’s combined total, almost all attributable to the Strong Force entity cluster. This extreme concentration in portfolio vehicles — rather than operating hardware companies — raises freedom-to-operate questions for any product team targeting AI-assisted quantum computing applications. A targeted prior-art search against the Strong Force portfolios is advisable before committing to a product roadmap.
High concentrationNo co-applicant activity detected in this corpus
Evidence pending: the collaboration data for this corpus returns no co-filing relationships. The absence of co-applicant patents may reflect the portfolio-entity structure of the dominant filers, who typically file independently rather than in joint ventures. Engineers looking for ecosystem partners should look beyond formal co-filing signals and examine licensing and standards activity directly.
No co-filing detectedUS-centric filing with selective PCT and EPO coverage
The United States leads jurisdiction coverage with 157 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings at 52 and Europe (EPO) at 49. Secondary markets — Australia, Singapore, Canada, and Hong Kong — carry meaningful but smaller counts. China appears with only 1 record, suggesting the dominant filers have not prioritized the Chinese market, which may represent a gap for hardware-focused entrants seeking to build IP positions there.
US-led; China thinGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Strong Force VCN leads; Quantum Digital Solutions is the fastest-growing operating company
The ranking is dominated by portfolio-entity filers affiliated with the Strong Force group. Among recognizable technology operators, Quantum Digital Solutions Corp and Google LLC stand out for their distinct technical emphasis.
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC
The leader holds 92 patent families, the largest position in the corpus by a wide margin. Its technology emphasis spans business-process computing (G06Q 10), AI-model computing (G06N 20), and neural-network computing (G06N 3), reflecting an application-layer claim strategy. Recent-window filings show a trajectory of +100% versus the prior period, indicating the portfolio has been actively expanded rather than held static.
patent families: 92Quantum Digital Solutions Corp
Quantum Digital Solutions Corp holds 39 patent families and ranks third overall, making it the leading non-Strong-Force entity in the corpus. Its focus concentrates on neural-network computing (G06N 3), digital data security (G06F 21), and encrypted information transmission (H04L 9) — a profile more consistent with quantum-safe cryptography and secure computing infrastructure than pure processor hardware. The +125% recent-window momentum marks it as the fastest-growing operating company in the ranking.
patent families: 39| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC | 60 | ▲ +100% |
| Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC | 33 | ▲ new entrant |
| Quantum Digital Solutions Corp | 27 | ▲ +125% |
| Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC | 22 | ▲ new entrant |
| Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC | 16 | ▲ new entrant |
| Strong Force TP Portfolio 2022 LLC | 11 | ▲ new entrant |
| Optios Inc | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Google LLC | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant AI-computing core
Several IPC branches appear at low share relative to the dominant G06N/G06Q core, yet carry plausible technical linkage to quantum processor applications. These are observations of relative sparsity; two stand out as warranting closer technical assessment.
H02J · Power supply and grid systems
H02J carries 31 patent records — a 2% share among IPC-tagged records — despite power delivery and energy management being a well-known engineering bottleneck in superconducting and photonic quantum processors. The sparsity here suggests that quantum-aware power-conditioning and cryogenic power distribution have not yet attracted dedicated patent coverage in this corpus. Teams working on quantum processor cooling infrastructure or energy-efficient qubit drive circuits have a plausible entry path with low current crowding.
Search this in Eureka →H01L · Semiconductor devices
H01L appears at only 7 patent records in a corpus nominally about quantum computing processors, which is notably thin given that qubit fabrication draws on semiconductor-device process steps. This sparsity likely reflects the application-layer skew of the dominant filers rather than a settled technology space. For engineers working on qubit device architecture — superconducting junctions, spin qubits, or photonic integration — the low H01L count indicates limited direct IP competition in this corpus, though broader semiconductor patent landscapes must be checked separately.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | G06N 20 · Computing based on AI models | G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models | G06Q 10 · Business, commerce & admin data processing | G06Q 30 · Business, commerce & admin data processing | G05B 19 · Control & regulating systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC | Strong · 73 | Strong · 52 | Strong · 75 | Strong · 42 | Moderate · 35 |
| Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC | Strong · 40 | Strong · 29 | Strong · 32 | Strong · 22 | Strong · 25 |
| Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC | Strong · 20 | Strong · 26 | Absent | Moderate · 12 | Strong · 26 |
| Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC | Strong · 30 | Strong · 28 | Emerging · 6 | Moderate · 14 | Absent |
| Quantum Digital Solutions Corp | Absent | Strong · 39 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| LiquidX Inc | Strong · 7 | Absent | Strong · 7 | Strong · 6 | Absent |
| Strong Force TP Portfolio 2022 LLC | Moderate · 4 | Strong · 12 | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 1 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 343 patent families in scope. The United States is the lead filing jurisdiction with 157 patent records.
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC leads with 92 patent families, followed by Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC with 45 and Quantum Digital Solutions Corp with 39. The top five filers among the hundred largest filers collectively account for 67% of that group’s combined total.
Yes, on a multi-year basis. Recent-window filings are 76% above the prior three-year window, placing the field in a Growth life-cycle stage. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, and 2024–2025 figures are further understated by publication lag, so the apparent post-2023 dip should not be interpreted as a real decline.
G06N (AI-model computing) and G06Q (business and commerce data processing) are the two largest IPC branches. Core qubit-hardware classes such as H01L (semiconductor devices) and H01P (waveguides) appear at very low counts, indicating the corpus skews toward application-layer and software-defined computing claims rather than physical processor fabrication.
The United States leads with 157 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT at 52 and Europe (EPO) at 49. Australia, Singapore, and Canada carry secondary coverage. China has only 1 patent record, suggesting the dominant filers have not prioritized Chinese filing in this corpus.
H02J (power supply and grid systems) and H01L (semiconductor devices) each appear at low counts — 31 and 7 patent records respectively — relative to the dominant AI-computing classes. Both have plausible technical relevance to quantum processor infrastructure, particularly cryogenic power delivery and qubit device fabrication, and carry limited current filing density in this corpus.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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