Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search Patents: Who Is Filing and Where the Gaps Sit
265% growth. Filings climbed from 20 in 2021 to 73 in 2024, the last year the data treats as complete. Filings rose from 19 in 2017 to a peak of 124 in 2025, with growth of 265% between 2021 (20 filings) and 2024 (73 filings) — the last year treated as complete before publication lag distorts the count. Readers should treat 2025 and 2026 as still filling in rather than as evidence of a slowdown.
- 1MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC5.4%
- 2X DEVELOPMENT LLC5.2%
- 3ORACLE INT CORP5.0%
- 4META PLATFORMS INC3.8%
- 5GOOGLE LLC3.8%
See the full approximate nearest neighbor search analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about ANN search patents
How many patents exist for approximate nearest neighbor search?
This dataset covers 498 published records matching approximate nearest neighbor search and related terms such as vector index, graph-based index, recall rate and dynamic insertion, filed between 2015 and the mid-2026 data cut-off. The true figure for the most recent one to two years will be higher than shown here because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months. Use 498 as the scope of this analysis rather than a definitive count of every ANN-related filing worldwide, since search terms and classification choices shape any such count.
Which companies hold the most ANN search patents?
The leading assignee holds 27 of the 498 records, with the fifth-ranked assignee at 19 and the tenth at 12 — a real but not extreme concentration at the top. The five leading assignees together hold 23.3% of all 498 records, and the top ten hold 36.7%, meaning nearly two-thirds of the field is spread across a long tail of smaller filers. The ranking includes large technology platforms alongside narrower infrastructure and specialist filers.
Is ANN search patent filing growing or slowing down?
Filings grew 265% from 20 in 2021 to 73 in 2024, which is the last year in this dataset treated as complete. The nominal peak shown is 2025 at 124 filings, but because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as a plateau or decline. On the evidence available, the growth trend through 2024 is unambiguous and accelerating.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.