China overtakes US in semiconductor patent applications

China has surpassed the United States in the number of semiconductor patent applications, despite sanctions and a decline in the number of companies in the industry. Experts attribute this to China’s successful strategy to develop its own microelectronics under conditions of restrictions, active government support for business and a great desire for technological independence.

Image source: Intel/Tomshardware.com

Image Source: Mathys & Squire

Globally, semiconductor patent applications surged 22% from March 2023 to March 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching 80,892 applications. It is noted that this growth is due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and increased investment in research and development in the field of semiconductor production, especially in China.

However, since the US began imposing sanctions on China’s semiconductor sector in 2019-2020, the number of companies producing chips in the Middle Kingdom has been steadily declining, with the decline worsening in 2022-2023 due to lower demand for chips. More than 22,000 chip-related companies have closed since 2019, and 2023 was a record year with 10,900 companies deregistering, nearly double the 5,746 closures in 2022. That is, in 2023, on average, 30 Chinese chip companies closed every day.

Despite this, the number of patent applications filed in China is growing, and statistics indicate that the rivalry between the US and China in the field of chip patents is beginning to gain momentum. However, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to more competitive microelectronics, particularly GPUs, developed in China.