Exploration and Bandit Methods Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Exploration and Bandit Methods Patents: Filing Trends and Leading Assignees
58.0% concentration. The top 5 of 47 ranked assignees hold 116 of 200 records in scope, with a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants behind them. Filings rose from 4 records in 2017 to a peak of 34 in 2019, then eased; the 2021-to-2024 window shows an 18% decline, from 22 to 18 records. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising as later publications catch up, so the apparent tail-off should not be read as the field slowing down.
- 1MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC34
- 2GDM HOLDING LLC24
- 3ALIPAY (HANGZHOU) INFORMATION TECH CO LTD21
- 4INTEL CORP20
- 5TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)17
See the full exploration and bandit methods 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 this landscape
Who are the leading patent filers in exploration and bandit methods?
The ranking covers 47 assignees, with the leader holding 34 of the 200 records in scope and the top 5 combined holding 116 records, a 58.0% share of the field. The field narrows quickly after that: fifth place holds 17 records and tenth place holds 5, so the top 10 together account for 74.0% of all records. Beyond that, most of the remaining assignees hold only a handful of records each, forming a long tail of occasional filers rather than a second wave of sustained programmes.
Is patent filing in contextual bandit and off-policy evaluation methods growing or slowing?
Filings peaked at 34 records in 2019 and fell to 18 by 2024, an 18% decline over the 2021-2024 period that can be treated as a complete window. That is a genuine cooldown from the peak, but it should not be read as the field disappearing: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and will rise as later publications post. Several previously active filers show zero records in the latest year, which is consistent with that lag as much as with reduced investment.
Which patent classification areas cover exploration and bandit method inventions?
G06N, computing based on AI models, covers 62.0% of the 200 records in scope and is the dominant classification. G06F general data processing (33.0%) and G06Q business and commerce processing (22.0%) are also common, often layered on top of a G06N classification on the same record. Smaller but active clusters sit in wireless networks (H04W, 15.0%), digital transmission (H04L, 10.0%), data recognition (G06K, 5.0%), video/pictorial communication (H04N, 4.5%) and games (A63F, 3.5%).
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 Exploration and Bandit Methods 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.