Patent drop: Record numbers of patents are being granted

1/8/23 7:00PM

Yesterday was the final day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world's largest tech trade show, which has been offering a glimpse into the future of consumer tech for more than 50 years. This year's show, attended by roughly 100,000 tech enthusiasts, included color-changing cars, urine-scanning devices and an oven that prevents burnt food.

‍The innovation acceleration...

‍Many of the innovative technologies displayed at CES are likely covered by a patent — and digging through patent filings is a good way of picking up on future tech trends. Filings mentioning "metaverse", for example, have risen significantly, as have those mentioning "foldable technology", "electric vehicles" and "sustainable technology".

The total number of patents filed in the US has also risen, with record numbers being granted in recent years. That trend has also been reflected globally, with 2021 setting a new global record number of IP filings for patents, trademarks and designs to protect innovations — with Asia filing 64% of the 1.7 million patents filed worldwide.

‍**... or just a paperwork pile-up?**

‍Preparing a patent submission usually requires lawyers or experts, and total costs can routinely run into the many thousands for complex ideas or submissions. That is why tech giants, who can monetize their intellectual property more efficiently than individual inventors, always top the patent tables.

Interestingly, IBM — which topped the patent league tables for 29 years in a row before losing its crown to Samsung — has just switched tack. The company dropped its patent count by 44% last year in a bid to free up resources from the time-consuming patent process.

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Partnering with Peacock won’t put the “+” back in Apple TV

Apple and NBCUniversal inked a deal to bundle their streaming services for a 30% discount.

Rani Molla24m

Jon Keegan53m

Report: Hollywood talent agencies were blindsided by OpenAI’s Sora and its hazy opt-out scheme

Just before OpenAI unleashed its Sora app on the world, reports emerged that the company was taking a novel approach to dealing with intellectual property rights – rights owners would have to opt-out of the service to prevent their likeness or characters from being featured in objectionable or disturbing ways.

Fast-forward a few weeks: Sora sits atop the app store leaderboards, and new details are emerging about how OpenAI engaged with Hollywood talent agencies seeking to protect their clients’ rights. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the agency heads felt blindsided by the company’s ask forgiveness, rather than get permission, approach.

One talent agency executive said OpenAI was “purposely misleading,” in heated discussions about the use of the agency clients’ likenesses, according to the report. OpenAI executives reportedly told talent agency heads that individual clients would have to individually opt-out of the platform, but did not yet have a streamlined process or dedicated staff to process the requests.

Days after Sora’s launch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on his blog that the company would “give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.”

But that hasn’t stopped calls from groups like the Motion Picture Association for OpenAI to respect copyright law, and to “prevent infringement” of rights owners’ intellectual property.

How Sam Altman Played Hollywood

But that hasn’t stopped calls from groups like the Motion Picture Association for OpenAI to respect copyright law, and to “prevent infringement” of rights owners’ intellectual property.

Jon Keegan5h

Apple suffers another AI setback as it loses key AI search leader to Meta

Apple’s efforts to get back into the AI race took another hit with news from Bloomberg that the head of AI search for a revamped Siri is leaving for Meta.

According to the report, Ke Yang took charge of Apple’s “Answers, Knowledge and Information” team just weeks ago. The team is reportedly targeting a March 2026 launch for the new version of Siri, which will feature the ability to search the web for answers to user queries.

Yang’s exit is the latest in a series of executive departures that have plagued Apple, and continues Meta’s hiring spree across the tech industry to lure top AI talent to the company with reported eye-popping nine-figure pay packages.

Bloomberg reports that roughly a dozen members of the Apple Foundation Models team have also departed recently, many joining Meta’s “superintelligence” team.

Apple’s Head of ChatGPT-Like AI Search Effort to Leave for Meta

Bloomberg reports that roughly a dozen members of the Apple Foundation Models team have also departed recently, many joining Meta’s “superintelligence” team.

Rani Molla6h

DoorDash jumps on news it’s partnering with Google’s Waymo for Phoenix deliveries

DoorDash is up more than 4% in early trading following news that it has partnered with autonomous car company Waymo to help deliver food and other goods in Phoenix. The service, which is meant to keep Waymos busy when they’re not in use as taxis, is currently in testing and is slated to roll out publicly later this year.

The Google-owned driverless car company has had a similar partnership with Uber in Phoenix since 2024. Waymo currently operates taxi services in five US cities, including Phoenix, with plans to expand to six more next year.

Driverless Waymos Set to Deliver DoorDash Orders in Phoenix

Jon Keegan6h

Report: Anthropic is catching up to OpenAI, on track for $9 billion annual run rate by the end of 2025

Strong demand for its enterprise AI tools like Claude Code has pushed Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate to $7 billion this month, according to a report from Reuters, with the Amazon-backed company on track to hit $9 billion ARR by the end of 2025.

The company was targeting a $5 billion annual run rate as recently as September.

The acceleration of revenue is helping Anthropic catch up to its larger rival OpenAI. Recently, OpenAI told its investors that the company has a $13 billion annual run rate target, according to The Information.

According to the report, things are picking up so fast for Anthropic that it is nearly tripling its annual revenue targets for 2026 to as much as $26 billion.

Anthropic recently raised an series F round of $13 billion, giving the startup a valuation of $183 billion.

Exclusive: Anthropic aims to nearly triple annualized revenue in 2026, sources say