Quantum Cryptography Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Quantum cryptography patents: mapping who holds the claim space and where it is still open
One filer stands well clear of the pack. the leader holds 1,075 records against 4,003 total in scope, and the top 5 combined account for 38.0% of all records — concentration at the very top, then a long tail. Annual filings rose from 158 in 2017 to a peak of 549 in 2023. The most recent complete-year comparison, 2021 (443) to 2024 (402), shows a 9% decline — read this as a plateau after rapid growth rather than a retreat, since 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in behind the publication lag.
- 1GOOGLE LLC26.9%
- 2KK TOSHIBA3.2%
- 3WELLS FARGO BANK NA2.8%
- 4ACCENTURE GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LTD2.7%
- 5NEC CORP2.5%
See the full 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
Common questions about quantum cryptography patents
Who holds the most quantum cryptography patents?
One assignee leads the ranked field with 1,075 of the 4,003 records in scope, well ahead of the next four filers combined. The top 5 assignees together account for 38.0% of all records, so the field is concentrated at the top but has a long tail of smaller filers below tenth place, where volumes drop to under 50 records each. This pattern suggests early movers built durable filing programs rather than the field being evenly contested.
Is quantum cryptography patent filing still growing?
Filing rose steadily from 158 records in 2017 to a peak of 549 in 2023, then eased to 402 in 2024 — a 9% decline from 2021’s 443 over that span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures in any dataset will look artificially low and should not be read as a slowdown. The honest read through 2024 is a plateau after a rapid build-up, not a retreat from the field.
Which patent classes cover the most quantum cryptography filings?
H04L (digital information transmission) appears in 54.5% of the 4,003 records and G06N (AI-based computing) in 37.5%, making them the two dominant classes by a wide margin. G06F (general data processing) covers a further 20.7%. Hardware-level classes such as H10N and H01L are comparatively rare, each under 3%, indicating that most claim activity sits at the protocol and software layer rather than physical qubit implementation.
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 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.