Post-Quantum Cryptography Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Post-quantum cryptography patents: who leads, and where filing has concentrated
Concentrated but not locked up. the leader holds 253 of 2,826 records in scope, and the ranked top 5 combined account for 26.6% of all records — a real lead, not a monopoly. Filings rose from 98 in 2017 to a peak of 340 in 2023, then held roughly flat through 2024 (278, versus 274 in 2021 — a +1% move over that span). 2025 and 2026 figures are understated because publication has not caught up with filing; the 2026 total of 50 should not be read as a drop-off.
- 1KK TOSHIBA9.0%
- 2ARQIT LTD6.4%
- 3NEC CORP4.7%
- 4WELLS FARGO BANK NA3.6%
- 5INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION2.9%
See the full post-quantum cryptography patent landscape 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
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the most post-quantum cryptography patents?
The leading assignee in this dataset holds 253 of the 2,826 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 82 and tenth place at 44. The top 5 assignees combined account for 26.6% of all records, and the top 10 for 35.1% — a meaningful concentration at the top but still a long tail of smaller filers beyond it. Family-level counting is used here specifically so that continuation filings and multi-jurisdiction duplicates from any one filer do not inflate its apparent lead.
Is post-quantum cryptography patent filing growing or slowing down?
Filing rose sharply from 98 records in 2017 to a peak of 340 in 2023, then held essentially flat through 2024 at 278 records versus 274 in 2021 — a +1% move over that three-year span. The lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 are not a real decline; publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the most recent one to two years in any patent dataset are still filling in. Read momentum through 2024, the last year that can be treated as complete.
What technology areas do post-quantum cryptography patents mostly claim?
The dominant IPC subclass is H04L, digital information transmission, appearing in 81.2% of the 2,826 records in scope — reflecting the field’s centre of gravity around key-exchange and transmission protocols. Secondary areas include H04B (transmission generally, 18.1%), G06F (electric digital data processing, 16.2%) and G06N (AI-based computing, 14.8%). Optical control and modulation (G02F) and multiplex communication (H04J) each sit under 3%, marking them as thinner, less-crowded claim areas relative to transmission-layer filing.
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 Post-Quantum Cryptography Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. 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.