Post-Quantum Cryptography Patent Landscape 2026
Post-Quantum Cryptography Patent Landscape in 2026
Post-quantum cryptography is in an active growth phase, with a 79% rise in filings over the recent window and 3,642 patent families in scope across a broad applicant mix spanning semiconductor firms, financial institutions, and dedicated cryptography specialists. The United States is the dominant filing jurisdiction and Intel Corp holds the leading position, though challengers are closing the gap rapidly.
Intel leads a moderately concentrated field with fast-rising challengers
Intel Corp ranks first with 170 patent families, followed by Wells Fargo Bank at 120, Arqit Ltd at 104, PQShield Ltd at 96, and IBM at 94. The top five filers account for 26% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate rather than tight concentration.
The tier gap between the leader and the second-ranked applicant is notable but not dominant — Wells Fargo trails Intel by roughly 50 patent families — and several challengers, including financial institutions and specialist firms, are filing at rates that are closing the distance. Below the top five, rankings flatten quickly, suggesting a broad mid-tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intel Corporation | 170 | |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank NA | 120 | |
| 3 | Arqit Ltd | 104 | |
| 4 | PQShield Ltd | 96 | |
| 5 | IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | 94 | |
| 6 | Infineon Technologies AG | 69 | |
| 7 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 67 | |
| 8 | Koninklijke Philips NV | 61 | |
| 9 | American Express Travel Related Services Co Inc | 60 | |
| 10 | Siemens AG | 58 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | China Telecom Quantum Information Technology Group Co Ltd | 45 | |
| 12 | Visa International Service Association | 41 | |
| 13 | Thales DIS France SA | 41 | |
| 14 | Samsung SDS Co Ltd | 36 | |
| 15 | ISARA Corporation | 35 | |
| 16 | Adeia Emerging Technologies Inc | 31 | |
| 17 | Red Hat Inc | 30 | |
| 18 | Jio Platforms Ltd | 30 | |
| 19 | Bank of America Corporation | 29 | |
| 20 | AS0001 Inc | 29 |
Intel’s position reflects long-standing semiconductor and hardware-security research, while the presence of Wells Fargo, American Express, and Visa in the top ten signals that financial-sector players view quantum-resistant authentication as a core infrastructure investment, not a peripheral concern.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are understated due to patent publication lag; the apparent 2025–2026 figures will rise as applications publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Sustained filing growth with an overwhelming focus on digital transmission security
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that is expanding consistently and remains tightly anchored to communications-layer cryptography, with secondary activity in data-processing security and AI-assisted methods.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings grew from 58 in 2017 to 573 in 2023 and reached 613 in 2024, with 2025–2026 figures understated by publication lag. The trajectory is one of continuous growth across the full window, consistent with the 79% recent-window rise; treat the apparent late-period moderation as an artifact of incomplete publication rather than a real plateau.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04L (digital information transmission) is by far the dominant branch, reflecting that most PQC work targets key exchange, digital signatures, and secure channel protocols. G06F (electric digital data processing) forms a substantial secondary cluster, and G06N (AI models) is a growing tertiary layer, suggesting early-stage integration of quantum-resistant methods into machine-learning pipelines.
↗ 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.
Generating a lattice basis for lattice-based crypt…
In a general aspect, a lattice basis parameter for a lattice-based cryptography system is generated. A first parameter for the lattice-based cryptography system is obtained. The first parameter includes a first set of values. Pseudorandom data is obtained from a pseudorandom generator. The lattice basis parameter is generated based on the first parameter… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Promotion smart contracts for software development… | 237 |
| 2 | Execution smart contracts configured to establish … | 212 |
| 3 | Auditing smart contracts configured to manage and … | 204 |
| 4 | Homomorphic evaluation including key switching, mo… | 197 |
| 5 | Convergent Intelligence Fabric for Multi-Domain Or… | 169 |
| 6 | Decentralized, immutable, tamper-evident, directed… | 168 |
| 7 | Alert smart contracts configured to manage and res… | 137 |
| 8 | Efficient Homomorphic Encryption Scheme For Biline… | 137 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural signals — lifecycle stage, competitive concentration, collaborative patterns, and geographic spread — frame the key decisions facing any team entering or expanding in this space.
Growth stage: filings rising consistently, no peak in sight
The field is classified as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The 79% recent-window growth rate confirms that foundational patents are still being filed at pace. Teams entering now can still stake claims in core protocol areas, though the window for uncontested first-mover positions in the central H04L communications layer is narrowing as the roster of active filers expands.
Growth stageModerate concentration with a diverse mid-tier
The top five filers hold 26% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output — moderate by technology-field standards. No single applicant has locked up the space. The mid-tier includes semiconductor companies, telecoms, and financial institutions, meaning competitive pressure comes from multiple industry verticals simultaneously. Entrants with domain-specific integration angles (e.g., embedded hardware or regulated-industry compliance) face less direct overlap than pure-cryptography generalists.
Moderate concentrationIBM–Bristol University leads a small but active co-filing network
The most active collaboration pair is IBM (international entity) and the University of Bristol, with 8 co-filed patent families; IBM also co-files with its own UK and German subsidiaries and with IBM China. Samsung Electronics co-files with Graz University of Technology (3 families), UNIST (2 families), Samsung China Semiconductor, and the SNU R&D Business Foundation. Industry–academia co-filing is present but sparse overall, pointing to opportunities for universities or research institutes to deepen partnerships with hardware and systems integrators.
Industry–academia linksUS-dominant filing with strong emerging-market presence
The United States leads with 1,542 patent records, followed by India at 448, China at 434, and Europe (EPO) at 424. PCT (WIPO) filings stand at 340. India’s second-place ranking is notable and reflects active filing by domestic technology and telecoms players seeking local protection. Germany, the UK, and Japan are present but smaller. The relative under-filing in East Asian jurisdictions outside China and South Korea may represent geographic white space for applicants seeking broader regional protection.
US-led, India risingGo 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.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | University of Bristol | 8 |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | IBM UNITED KINGDOM LTD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPAR… | 4 |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | GRAZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | IBM China Co Ltd | 2 |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | IBM DEUTSCHLAND GMBH | 2 |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) | 2 |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Samsung China Semiconductor Co Ltd | 1 |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Seoul National University R&DB Foundation | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Intel leads on volume; Wells Fargo and NXP are the fastest-rising challengers
The leading applicants span semiconductor hardware, financial services, and specialist cryptography firms, with divergent momentum trajectories creating a shifting competitive order.
Intel Corp
Intel holds the top position with 170 patent families, concentrated in H04L 9 (digital transmission cryptography, 161 families), G06F 21 (platform security, 47 families), and G06F 7 (arithmetic/computational primitives, 19 families) — a profile consistent with hardware-level PQC acceleration for CPUs and accelerators. However, momentum has declined by 48% in the recent three-year window versus the prior period, suggesting the firm’s filing pace is moderating while challengers accelerate.
patent families: 170Wells Fargo Bank
Wells Fargo ranks second with 120 patent families, heavily weighted to H04L 9 (115 families) and G06F 21 (37 families), with a notable position in G06N 10 (quantum-computing AI models, 34 families) — the most pronounced AI-adjacent PQC focus among the top filers. Filing momentum is up 52% versus the prior three-year period, making it the fastest-growing major incumbent by percentage among the top-two, reflecting financial-sector urgency to replace classical public-key infrastructure ahead of regulatory deadlines.
patent families: 120| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Corporation | 58 | ▼ -48% |
| Wells Fargo Bank | 64 | ▲ +52% |
| Arqit Ltd | 43 | ▼ -27% |
| PQShield Ltd | 48 | ▲ +23% |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | 17 | ▼ -66% |
| Infineon Technologies AG | 37 | ▲ +61% |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 51 | ▲ 4.6× vs prior 3-yr |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC branches sit adjacent to the dominant H04L communications cluster but have materially lower filing density, making them worth watching for teams with differentiated technical angles.
H04W · Wireless communication networks
With 162 patent records, H04W represents only 3% of IPC-tagged activity despite wireless networks being a primary attack surface for quantum-capable adversaries. The branch covers mobile and IoT protocols where classical key exchange is deeply embedded in standards. The technical gap between PQC algorithm availability and wireless-standard integration is well-documented, and the relatively sparse filing density suggests the standards-integration and device-implementation layer remains open for well-positioned telecoms or chipset players.
Search this in Eureka →G16H · Healthcare informatics
At 40 patent records, G16H is one of the lowest-density application branches in the dataset despite healthcare data being subject to long retention horizons that make it acutely vulnerable to harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks. The branch covers electronic health records, medical device data exchange, and clinical informatics. The combination of regulatory pressure (HIPAA, GDPR, forthcoming quantum-readiness guidance) and sparse existing IP creates a plausible entry path for health-IT vendors or medical-device makers seeking defensible differentiation.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H04L 9 · Digital information transmission | G06F 21 · Electric digital data processing | H04L 29 · Digital information transmission | G06N 10 · Computing based on AI models | G06Q 20 · Business, commerce & admin data processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Corporation | Strong · 161 | Moderate · 47 | Emerging · 7 | Absent | Absent |
| Wells Fargo Bank | Strong · 115 | Moderate · 37 | Emerging · 17 | Moderate · 34 | Emerging · 6 |
| IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) | Strong · 89 | Moderate · 32 | Emerging · 9 | Absent | Absent |
| PQShield Ltd | Strong · 91 | Moderate · 29 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Arqit Ltd | Strong · 104 | Absent | Emerging · 6 | Absent | Emerging · 7 |
| American Express Travel Related Services Co Inc | Strong · 56 | Moderate · 13 | Emerging · 9 | Absent | Strong · 31 |
| Infineon Technologies AG | Strong · 59 | Moderate · 26 | Emerging · 8 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 3,642 patent families in scope globally. The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction with 1,542 patent records, followed by India at 448 and China at 434.
Intel Corp leads with 170 patent families, followed by Wells Fargo Bank at 120, Arqit Ltd at 104, PQShield Ltd at 96, and IBM at 94. The top five together account for 26% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers.
Yes. The field is classified in a Growth stage, with annual filings rising from 58 in 2017 to 613 in 2024 and a 79% increase over the recent filing window. The most recent 18–24 months are understated due to patent publication lag, so true current activity is higher than the raw counts suggest.
H04L (digital information transmission) is overwhelmingly dominant, reflecting that most work targets key exchange protocols, digital signatures, and secure channel establishment. G06F (electric digital data processing) forms a secondary cluster, and G06N (AI models) is an emerging tertiary layer.
NXP Semiconductors has grown at 3.9 times its prior three-year rate, and Samsung Electronics at 4.6 times its prior three-year rate. Wells Fargo is up 52% and Infineon Technologies up 61% versus the prior period. Intel and IBM are both declining in recent filing pace — down 48% and 66% respectively.
The most notable lower-density branches adjacent to the core are H04W (wireless communication networks, 162 records), G16H (healthcare informatics, 40 records), and G16Y (IoT data processing, 5 records). These sectors face documented quantum-threat exposure but have relatively sparse existing IP coverage compared with the central communications-protocol layer.
Map your own post-quantum cryptography patent landscape
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.