Who develops AI-related innovations, goods and services?
A firm-level analysis
This study proposes an exploratory analysis of the characteristics of Artificial Intelligence
(AI) “actors”. It focuses on entities that deploy AI-related technologies or introduce
AI-related goods and services on large international markets. It builds on the OECD
Science, Technology and Innovation Micro-data Lab infrastructure, and, in particular,
on Intellectual Property (IP) rights data (patents and trademarks) combined with company-level
data. Statistics on AI-related patents and trademarks show that AI-related activities
are strongly concentrated in some countries, sectors, and actors. Development of AI
technologies and/or goods and services is mainly due to start-ups or large incumbents,
located in the United States, Japan, Korea, or the People’s Republic of China, and,
to a lesser extent, in Europe. A majority of these actors operate in ICT-related sectors.
The composition of the IP portfolio of the AI actors indicates that AI is frequently
combined with a variety of sector-specific technologies, goods, or services.
Published on September 22, 2021
In series:OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papersview more titles