Post-Quantum Cryptography Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 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.
- Filing has plateaued, not fallen. 2021 to 2024 (the last complete year) moved from 274 to 278 filings, a bare +1% — flat momentum after the 2023 peak of 340, not a decline.
- Transmission claims dominate the field. H04L (digital information transmission) appears in 81.2% of all 2,826 records, while optical modulation (G02F) and multiplex communication (H04J) sit under 3% each.
Filing growth compares 2021 (274 records) with 2024 (278) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 2,826 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape covers 2,826 published records matched on post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution language combined with authentication, encryption-key and qubit/quantum-gate terminology. The scope spans filings from 2015 through the 2026-08-31 cut-off, though records from the most recent one to two years are still arriving in the data as publication lags behind filing by roughly 18 months. Family-level counting is used in the assignee ranking, which neutralises continuation-heavy filers and multi-jurisdiction duplicates that would otherwise inflate raw document counts.
The receiving-office mix is dominated by the United States (1,170 records), with Europe, WIPO/PCT, India, the United Kingdom and China each contributing meaningful but smaller shares — a pattern consistent with a field still being staked out across major markets rather than settled in one jurisdiction.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 2,826 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim language.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
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.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
H04L (digital information transmission) touches 81.2% of the 2,826 records in scope, confirming that most claims are anchored in transmission and key-exchange mechanics rather than hardware. G06F and G06N (data processing and AI-based computing) each sit in the mid-teens, while G02F (optical control and modulation) and H04J (multiplex communication) remain under 3% — a much thinner claim base relative to the volume of transmission-layer filing.
Shares are the percentage of the 2,826 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Post-Quantum Cryptography Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about post-quantum cryptography patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
Quantum key distribution device, quantum key distribution system, and quantum key distribution method
A communication device in embodiments is a quantum key distribution device connectable to another quantum key distribution device through a quantum communication channel to share an encryption key therebetween, and includes a common processing unit, one or more individual processing units, and a distribution unit. The common processing unit outputs intermediate data based on bit information obtained by transmitting or receiving sequence of photons with the another quantum key distribution device through the quantum communication channel. Each individual processing unit generates or provides the encryption key in accordance with the intermediate data. The distribution unit distributes the intermediate data across processing units.Filed by Toshiba, published 2017-09-14 as US20170264433A1 — an early, foundational claim on distributing intermediate key material across multiple processing units within a QKD device.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20130083926A1 | Quantum key management | 287 |
| 2 | US20120177201A1 | Methods and apparatus for use in quantum key distribution | 221 |
| 3 | US20250259085A1 | Convergent Intelligence Fabric for Multi-Domain Orchestration of Distributed Agents with Hierarchical Memory … | 209 |
| 4 | US20110213979A1 | Quantum key distribution | 187 |
| 5 | US20150222619A1 | Multi-factor authentication using quantum communication | 186 |
| 6 | US20140068765A1 | Method and apparatus for authenticating user in multiparty quantum communications | 163 |
| 7 | US20130101121A1 | Secure multi-party communication with quantum key distribution managed by trusted authority | 161 |
| 8 | US20100299526A1 | Network having quantum key distribution | 160 |
| 9 | US20180237039A1 | Locomotive control system | 158 |
| 10 | US8855316B2 | Quantum cryptography apparatus | 155 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations within the searched corpus — treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three read-outs from the concentration, momentum and technology-composition figures above, translated into what they mean for someone deciding where to file next.
A real lead, not a lockout
The top 5 ranked assignees combined hold 26.6% of all 2,826 records in scope, with the leader alone at 253. That leaves nearly three-quarters of the field outside the top 5 — enough headroom for a well-differentiated filing, but any claim touching key-distribution mechanics should expect to be read against the leader's portfolio first.
Flat, not falling
Filing volume moved from 274 in 2021 to 278 in 2024, essentially flat after peaking at 340 in 2023. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the lower 2025–2026 counts are an artefact of the data cut-off rather than evidence of slowing interest — read momentum through 2024, not through the most recent bars.
Transmission claims crowd one lane; optics stays thin
H04L (digital information transmission) appears in 81.2% of the 2,826 records, while G02F (optical control and modulation) sits at just 2.4% and H04J (multiplex communication) at 1.9%. Filing density in H04L signals occupied claim space around key exchange and transmission protocols, not that the underlying technology is finished — the optical and multiplex layers carry far less claim traffic for the same overall volume.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to post-quantum cryptography patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders span telecom equipment makers, national labs and a smaller set of quantum-security specialists; momentum in the most recent year has cooled across nearly all of them, which is expected given the publication lag rather than a sign of retreat from the field.
Diversified electronics and telecom incumbents anchor the top of the ranking
The leading assignee's 253 records sit well ahead of fifth place (82) and tenth place (44), reflecting a broad quantum-communication and cryptographic-hardware portfolio built over multiple filing years rather than a single recent push.
Recent-year counts have cooled across the ranked leaders
Several of the most active assignees show sharp year-over-year drops in the latest year, including declines of -60%, -80% and -100% among named leaders. Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, these should be read as incomplete recent-year data filling in, not as leaders stepping back from the technology.
Co-filing is limited and concentrated within corporate families
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the corpus, and the strongest of these link a parent company with its own subsidiary or with national research institutes rather than cross-company joint ventures. Genuine inter-company collaboration on post-quantum cryptography filings remains rare in this dataset.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| QUANTUM DIGITAL SOLUTIONS CORP | 2 | -60% |
| NEC Corporation | 1 | -89% |
| Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | 1 | -80% |
| Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation) | 0 | -100% |
| ARQIT LTD | 0 | -100% |
| International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | 0 | — |
| British Telecommunications plc | 0 | — |
| QinetiQ Limited | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The figures above answer where filing has concentrated; the next step is testing a specific claim or company against the full corpus.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With the top 5 assignees holding 26.6% of all 2,826 records, any new filing touching key-distribution or transmission-layer claims should be checked against that concentration before drafting.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in Eureka →Watch the under-claimed branches
Optical modulation and multiplex-channel claims carry far less density than H04L transmission claims — worth monitoring for a first-mover filing rather than a crowded one.
Track white space in Eureka →Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
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.
Based on the IPC composition, the thinnest claim density sits in optical modulation for QKD hardware (G02F, 2.4% of records) and multiplex-channel key distribution (H04J, 1.9%), compared with 81.2% for transmission-layer claims under H04L. Business-process integration (G06Q) and wireless-network-specific protocols (H04W) also carry comparatively light claim traffic. These branches are candidates for a differentiated first claim, though thin filing density alone does not guarantee the underlying technology is commercially proven.
The ranking is led by a diversified electronics and telecom incumbent with 253 records, but recent-year momentum has cooled sharply across nearly every named leader, with year-over-year drops ranging from roughly -60% to -100% in the latest year. This cooling is best read as an artefact of the roughly 18-month publication lag rather than firms exiting the field — the same effect depresses the 2025-2026 bars in the overall filing trend. Cross-company collaboration is also limited: only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the corpus, and the strongest links are within corporate families rather than between unrelated companies.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.