Quantum Computing Processor Patent Landscape in 2026
The quantum computing processor patent space is heavily concentrated: the top five filers among the hundred largest filers account for 67% of that group's combined total, with the Strong Force portfolio entities collectively dominating the ranking. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis — recent-window filings sit 76% above the prior window — though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak.
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Published byPatSnap Insights Team··7 min readVerified by PatSnap Eureka data
Overview
Strong Force portfolio entities lead a highly concentrated field
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC holds the top position with 92 patent families, placing it well ahead of every other filer in scope. The next four ranked applicants — Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC, Quantum Digital Solutions Corp, Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC, and Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC — together with the leader account for 67% of the hundred largest filers' combined total.
The tier gap between the Strong Force cluster and the remaining players is pronounced. Google LLC and LiquidX Inc, both sitting at 7 patent families, represent the first recognizable non-portfolio technology companies in the ranking, indicating that mainstream semiconductor and quantum hardware firms have so far made limited formal IP commitments in this particular corpus.
Leading applicants
#
Applicant
Patent families
Share
1
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC
92
2
Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC
45
3
Quantum Digital Solutions Corp
39
4
Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC
33
5
Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC
26
6
Strong Force TP Portfolio 2022 LLC
16
7
Optios Inc
8
8
Google LLC
7
9
LiquidX Inc
7
10
Splashlight Holdings LLC
6
#
Applicant
Patent families
Share
11
William Edward Quigley
5
12
Lukasz Jakub Sliwka
5
13
Boodle Inc
5
14
Mocsy Inc
4
15
New York Digital Investment Group LLC
4
16
IMRSV Data Labs Inc
4
17
Unanimous AI Inc
3
18
X Development LLC
3
19
Hygiene IQ LLC
3
20
Nicholas John Teague
3
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The dominance of patent-portfolio entities rather than operating hardware companies suggests that the formal IP landscape here skews toward application-layer and AI-assisted computing claims. Engineers evaluating freedom-to-operate or partnership targets will need to assess portfolio-assertion risk alongside technology-development trajectories.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are under-represented due to publication lag; the apparent drop in 2024–2026 data should not be read as a real decline in activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Chart shows the top applicants ranked by patent families. Applicant counts can overlap where a patent family lists several applicants, so they need not sum to the total in scope.Explore deeper in Eureka →
Trends & Structure
Multi-year growth driven by AI-computing and business-application claims
Annual filing volume grew from a negligible base in 2017 to a 2023 peak, with the multi-year recent window running 76% above the prior window. The technology composition reveals that AI-model computing (G06N) and business-data processing (G06Q) dominate, while core hardware classes remain thin.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed sharply from 2019 onward, reaching a peak in 2023 at 77 records before the 2024 and 2025 figures — which are artificially depressed by publication lag — show lower counts. The multi-year growth of 76% confirms the field is still in expansion on a structural basis; do not interpret the post-2023 dip as a real slowdown.
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Technology composition
G06N (AI-model computing) accounts for the largest share of IPC-tagged records, followed by G06Q (business and commerce data processing) and G06F (general digital data processing). Hardware-oriented classes such as H01L (semiconductor devices), H01P (waveguides), and H10N (solid-state devices) appear at very low counts, pointing to an application-software emphasis in the corpus rather than a qubit-hardware emphasis.
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Source: PatSnap Eureka. Technology-branch counts are measured in patent records; a single patent family can carry several IPC classes, so class totals can exceed the family total in scope.Explore deeper in Eureka →
Key Patents
Highly 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.
Featured patent
US10671559B2Published 2020-06-02
Chips including classical and quantum computing pr…
Google LLC
An apparatus includes a substrate, a classical computing processor formed on the substrate, a quantum computing processor formed on the substrate, and one or more coupling components between the classical computing processor and the quantum computing processor, the one or more coupling components being formed on the substrate and being configured to allow… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Representative drawings from the patent document.
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Highly cited patent families surfaced by this query
#
Patent
Citations
1
Platform for facilitating development of intellige…
721
2
Intelligent vibration digital twin systems and met…
694
3
Methods, systems, kits and apparatuses for monitor…
546
4
Methods and systems for data collection, learning,…
506
5
Control tower and enterprise management platform w…
330
6
Robot Fleet Management for Value Chain Networks
322
7
Transaction platforms where systems include sets o…
218
8
Systems and methods for detecting occupancy using …
191
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.
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Citation-ranked patent families surfaced by this query.Open in Eureka →
Insights
What the IP structure means for R&D investment decisions
United States–centric jurisdiction profile shapes where engineering investment can be differentiated.
Growth
Growth stage, easing from 2023 peak
The field is classified as Growth: recent-window filings sit 76% above the prior window, confirming structural expansion. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, though publication lag means the true 2024–2025 activity level is understated. R&D teams entering now face an established but not yet saturated filing environment.
Life-cycle: Growth
Concentration
Portfolio entities hold a 67% commanding share among top filers
The top five filers among the hundred largest filers hold 67% of that group's combined total, almost all attributable to the Strong Force entity cluster. This extreme concentration in portfolio vehicles — rather than operating hardware companies — raises freedom-to-operate questions for any product team targeting AI-assisted quantum computing applications. A targeted prior-art search against the Strong Force portfolios is advisable before committing to a product roadmap.
High concentration
Collaboration
No co-applicant activity detected in this corpus
Evidence pending: the collaboration data for this corpus returns no co-filing relationships. The absence of co-applicant patents may reflect the portfolio-entity structure of the dominant filers, who typically file independently rather than in joint ventures. Engineers looking for ecosystem partners should look beyond formal co-filing signals and examine licensing and standards activity directly.
No co-filing detected
Geography
US-centric filing with selective PCT and EPO coverage
The United States leads jurisdiction coverage with 157 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT filings at 52 and Europe (EPO) at 49. Secondary markets — Australia, Singapore, Canada, and Hong Kong — carry meaningful but smaller counts. China appears with only 1 record, suggesting the dominant filers have not prioritized the Chinese market, which may represent a gap for hardware-focused entrants seeking to build IP positions there.
US-led; China thin
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Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Jurisdiction counts are at the patent-record level across the corpus.Explore insights →
Leaders
Strong Force VCN leads; Quantum Digital Solutions is the fastest-growing operating company
The ranking is dominated by portfolio-entity filers affiliated with the Strong Force group. Among recognizable technology operators, Quantum Digital Solutions Corp and Google LLC stand out for their distinct technical emphasis.
Leader · Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC
The leader holds 92 patent families, the largest position in the corpus by a wide margin. Its technology emphasis spans business-process computing (G06Q 10), AI-model computing (G06N 20), and neural-network computing (G06N 3), reflecting an application-layer claim strategy. Recent-window filings show a trajectory of +100% versus the prior period, indicating the portfolio has been actively expanded rather than held static.
patent families: 92
Challenger · Quantum Digital Solutions Corp
Quantum Digital Solutions Corp
Quantum Digital Solutions Corp holds 39 patent families and ranks third overall, making it the leading non-Strong-Force entity in the corpus. Its focus concentrates on neural-network computing (G06N 3), digital data security (G06F 21), and encrypted information transmission (H04L 9) — a profile more consistent with quantum-safe cryptography and secure computing infrastructure than pure processor hardware. The +125% recent-window momentum marks it as the fastest-growing operating company in the ranking.
patent families: 39
Patent Assignee
Additional Assignee
Holds multiple active families across this technology cluster spanning several jurisdictions.
Undisclosed
Patent Assignee
Additional Assignee
Holds multiple active families across this technology cluster spanning several jurisdictions.
Undisclosed
🔍
See the full applicant breakdown
Unlock rankings, momentum scores, and technology focus for all 20 tracked applicants in this corpus.
Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLCGoogle LLC+ more
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Applicant rankings and momentum are measured at the patent-family level.Explore players →
Adjacent Branches
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant AI-computing core
Several IPC branches appear at low share relative to the dominant G06N/G06Q core, yet carry plausible technical linkage to quantum processor applications. These are observations of relative sparsity; two stand out as warranting closer technical assessment.
H02J · Power supply and grid systems
H02J carries 31 patent records — a 2% share among IPC-tagged records — despite power delivery and energy management being a well-known engineering bottleneck in superconducting and photonic quantum processors. The sparsity here suggests that quantum-aware power-conditioning and cryogenic power distribution have not yet attracted dedicated patent coverage in this corpus. Teams working on quantum processor cooling infrastructure or energy-efficient qubit drive circuits have a plausible entry path with low current crowding.
H01L appears at only 7 patent records in a corpus nominally about quantum computing processors, which is notably thin given that qubit fabrication draws on semiconductor-device process steps. This sparsity likely reflects the application-layer skew of the dominant filers rather than a settled technology space. For engineers working on qubit device architecture — superconducting junctions, spin qubits, or photonic integration — the low H01L count indicates limited direct IP competition in this corpus, though broader semiconductor patent landscapes must be checked separately.
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Branch sparsity is assessed relative to total IPC-tagged records in the corpus.Explore emerging →
Route Matrix
How leading filers differ across technology routes
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
Player
G06N 20 · Computing based on AI models
G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models
G06Q 10 · Business, commerce & admin data processing
G06Q 30 · Business, commerce & admin data processing
G05B 19 · Control & regulating systems
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC
Strong · 73
Strong · 52
Strong · 75
Strong · 42
Moderate · 35
Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC
Strong · 40
Strong · 29
Strong · 32
Strong · 22
Strong · 25
Strong Force IOT Portfolio 2016 LLC
Strong · 20
Strong · 26
Absent
Moderate · 12
Strong · 26
Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018 LLC
Strong · 30
Strong · 28
Emerging · 6
Moderate · 14
Absent
Quantum Digital Solutions Corp
Absent
Strong · 39
Absent
Absent
Absent
LiquidX Inc
Strong · 7
Absent
Strong · 7
Strong · 6
Absent
Strong Force TP Portfolio 2022 LLC
Moderate · 4
Strong · 12
Absent
Absent
Emerging · 1
Source: PatSnap Eureka. Matrix values are measured in patent records and should not be compared directly with family-level applicant totals.Compare in Eureka →
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 343 patent families in scope. The United States is the lead filing jurisdiction with 157 patent records.
Strong Force VCN Portfolio 2019 LLC leads with 92 patent families, followed by Strong Force EE Portfolio 2022 LLC with 45 and Quantum Digital Solutions Corp with 39. The top five filers among the hundred largest filers collectively account for 67% of that group's combined total.
Yes, on a multi-year basis. Recent-window filings are 76% above the prior three-year window, placing the field in a Growth life-cycle stage. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, and 2024–2025 figures are further understated by publication lag, so the apparent post-2023 dip should not be interpreted as a real decline.
G06N (AI-model computing) and G06Q (business and commerce data processing) are the two largest IPC branches. Core qubit-hardware classes such as H01L (semiconductor devices) and H01P (waveguides) appear at very low counts, indicating the corpus skews toward application-layer and software-defined computing claims rather than physical processor fabrication.
The United States leads with 157 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT at 52 and Europe (EPO) at 49. Australia, Singapore, and Canada carry secondary coverage. China has only 1 patent record, suggesting the dominant filers have not prioritized Chinese filing in this corpus.
H02J (power supply and grid systems) and H01L (semiconductor devices) each appear at low counts — 31 and 7 patent records respectively — relative to the dominant AI-computing classes. Both have plausible technical relevance to quantum processor infrastructure, particularly cryogenic power delivery and qubit device fabrication, and carry limited current filing density in this corpus.
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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.
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