Technology

What is the Internet of Things?

Published

10 years ago

July 15, 2014

Jeff Desjardins

What is the “Internet of Things?”

According to some estimates, by next year, there will be twice as many devices connected to the Internet than there are people in the world! By the end of the decade, that number may hit 50 billion and The Internet of Things (IoT) market is estimated to be valued at $7.1 trillion.

The following major companies are shaping the IoT space and are worth looking at for exposure to this important trend.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)

Google is a major player in the IoT market through its home automation efforts. The tech titan has made many acquisitions in this industry in the past few years. Most notably, Google acquired the home automation company, Nest, for $3.2 billion earlier this year.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple is determined to make a harmonious user experience for all the devices in your home. Apple’s initiative, HomeKit, is a new framework for communicating with and controlling connected devices in a user’s home. Some have speculated that this will be Apple’s next disruptive move.

Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS)

Skyworks is a major supplier of connectivity chips to some of the biggest players in the tech world, like Apple and Samsung. The company has been investing in IoT initiatives at a feverish pace and will likely grow its market share.

Philips (NYSE: PHG)

The light bulb game is set to change and Philips is ahead of the curve. Incandescent bulbs are slowly being phased out, in favour of LED bulbs, and Philips is offering products that can be controlled through your smartphone.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)

Intel has always been a major force in providing other tech giants with processors and chips. To keep up with the IoT industry change, Intel has released a new type of super-efficient chip that can be used in wearable devices.

Goldman Sach’s IoT Predictions

If you would like to check out even more promising IoT companies, here’s a list of Goldman Sach’s top picks for stock best positioned to take advantage of the IoT trend. Interestingly enough, Goldman did not include Apple or Google on this list.

Original infographic from: PostsScapes.com

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Technology

Visualizing AI Patents by Country

See which countries have been granted the most AI patents each year, from 2012 to 2022.

Published

6 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Marcus Lu

Visualizing AI Patents by Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This infographic shows the number of AI-related patents granted each year from 2010 to 2022 (latest data available). These figures come from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), accessed via Stanford University’s 2024 AI Index Report.

From this data, we can see that China first overtook the U.S. in 2013. Since then, the country has seen enormous growth in the number of AI patents granted each year.

Year	China	EU and UK	U.S.	RoW	Global Total
2010	307	137	984	571	1,999
2011	516	129	980	581	2,206
2012	926	112	950	660	2,648
2013	1,035	91	970	627	2,723
2014	1,278	97	1,078	667	3,120
2015	1,721	110	1,135	539	3,505
2016	1,621	128	1,298	714	3,761
2017	2,428	144	1,489	1,075	5,136
2018	4,741	155	1,674	1,574	8,144
2019	9,530	322	3,211	2,720	15,783
2020	13,071	406	5,441	4,455	23,373
2021	21,907	623	8,219	7,519	38,268
2022	35,315	1,173	12,077	13,699	62,264

In 2022, China was granted more patents than every other country combined.

While this suggests that the country is very active in researching the field of artificial intelligence, it doesn’t necessarily mean that China is the farthest in terms of capability.

Key Facts About AI Patents

According to CSET, AI patents relate to mathematical relationships and algorithms, which are considered abstract ideas under patent law. They can also have different meaning, depending on where they are filed.

In the U.S., AI patenting is concentrated amongst large companies including IBM, Microsoft, and Google. On the other hand, AI patenting in China is more distributed across government organizations, universities, and tech firms (e.g. Tencent).

In terms of focus area, China’s patents are typically related to computer vision, a field of AI that enables computers and systems to interpret visual data and inputs. Meanwhile America’s efforts are more evenly distributed across research fields.

Learn More About AI From Visual Capitalist

If you want to see more data visualizations on artificial intelligence, check out this graphic that shows which job departments will be impacted by AI the most.