Reproduced from a USPTO report; Chart: Axios Visuals
A report this week from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) found the number of AI-related patents filed each year more than doubled between 2002 and 2018.
Why it matters: The increase in patent applications is just one way to chart the growing role artificial intelligence is playing in the U.S. economy.
By the numbers: The number of AI-related patent applications increased from 30,000 in 2002 to more than 60,000 in 2018, while AI's share of overall patent filings went from a minuscule percentage to more than 15%.
- AI-related applications also grew across different kinds of technologies, organizations and geographies.
The bottom line: Every great economic innovation begins with a patent, and increasingly that means AI.
