China Leads The U.S. In Patent Applications For Blockchain And Artificial Intelligence

Visitors enjoy an artificial intelligence robot's performance during the 2018 Exposition on China's Indigenous Brands at Shanghai Exhibition Center on May 10, 2018 in Shanghai. China, thanks to its 1.37 billion residents, leads the world on a number of counts. The smartphone user population totaled 663 million last year, more than anywhere else, and its internet penetration stood at 751 million. Now China ranks first in the world in the number of patent applications from two heavily watched, fast-growing areas of high tech: cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, claims American startup ecosystem research organization Startup Genome in a 2018 report. Chalk that up to active government support, domestic demand for new technology and, per one study, a more relaxed patent regime.