OpenAI Patent Portfolio Analysis

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Disclaimer: This report has been updated through 23 September 2025. The information is provided for reference only and does not represent any opinion, recommendation, or endorsement.

Overview

OpenAI maintains a focused patent portfolio aligned with large-scale machine learning, software infrastructure, and deployment. This report summarizes portfolio size, asset status, jurisdictional and technological coverage, citations, litigation, ownership, M&A (past 10 years), and business performance. All figures below reflect the data you provided.

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Key Metrics:

Total Patents: 58
Simple Families: 38
Extended Families: 32
Jurisdictions Covered: 2
Litigated Patents: 0
Challenged Patents: 0

Asset Status:

Active Grants: 24
Active Applications: 33
Abandoned Applications: — NA
Expired Due to Fees: — NA
Withdrawn Applications: — NA

Jurisdictional Distribution

United States (US): 48
World Intellectual Property Organization (WO): 9

Total across jurisdictions: 57

Technological Distribution

Software: 46
Networking: 5
Computer Systems & Components: 4

Citations

Top Cited Patents (Forward Citations)

US11983806B1 – 16
US11922550B1 – 14
US11030242B1 – 10
US11886826B1 – 8
US11327962B1 – 3
US11983488B1 – 3
US12008341B2 – 3
US11922144B1 – 2
US12079587B1 – 2
WO2024191475A1 – 1

Top Citing Patents (Backward Citations)

US12079587B1 – 55
US11327962B1 – 38
US12164548B1 – 36
US12039431B1 – 32
US12406207B2 – 23
US20250104243A1 – 20
US11983488B1 – 18
US12315255B2 – 18
US11922144B1 – 16
US12124823B2 – 16

Top Cited Assignees (Backward Citations)

Microsoft Corporation – 21
International Business Machines Corporation – 18
Alphabet Inc. – 15
Adobe Inc. – 11
Amazon.com, Inc. – 10
Oracle Corporation – 9
Salesforce.com, Inc. – 9
Electronics Co. Ltd. – 8
Accenture PLC – 6
SAP SE – 6

Top Citing Assignees (Forward Citations)

Alphabet Inc. – 4
Baidu Incorporated – 3
Microsoft Corporation – 3
OpenAI, Inc. – 3
Adobe Inc. – 2
CCB Finetech Co Ltd – 2
China Construction Bank Corp. – 2
LEMA Labs Limited – 2
Salesforce.com, Inc. – 2
Amazon.com, Inc. – 1

Litigation Activities

There is no litigation data available for OpenAI’s patent portfolio. None of the patents are reported as litigated or legally challenged.

Originally Assigned Patents: 57
Acquired Patents: 1

Sources of Acquired Patents

Operating Companies: 1
Other Sources: 0

Patent Portfolio Ageing by Estimated Expiration

Patenting Activity by Publication/Issue Year

Notable Mergers and Acquisitions

2024 — Rockset — OpenAI acquired Rockset to integrate its real-time indexing and query technology into OpenAI’s retrieval infrastructure; Rockset team joined OpenAI.
2024 — Multi (formerly Remotion) — Team joined OpenAI in an acqui-hire; Multi announced product sunset with user data deletion timelines.
2023 — Global Illumination — Design/AI studio team acquired to work on core products.

Business Performance

Company status: Private (no listed equity).

Revenue run-rate: ~$12B annualized by July 2025, per The Information reporting cited by Reuters; OpenAI previously indicated a $10B run-rate as of June 2025.

Financing & valuation: In Mar–Apr 2025, OpenAI said it would raise up to $40B in a SoftBank-led round at about $300B valuation; in Aug 2025, Reuters reported discussions around an employee stock sale implying ~$500B valuation.

Conclusion

OpenAI’s portfolio comprises 58 patents across 2 jurisdictions, concentrated in software (46) with smaller shares in networking and computer systems. Citations cluster around a handful of recent U.S. patents, with frequent backward references to Microsoft and IBM portfolios.

There is no reported litigation. Ownership is predominantly original (57/58), with one acquired asset. M&A in the last decade includes Rockset (2024), Multi (team, 2024), and Global Illumination (2023). Revenue run-rate and valuation data reflect significant growth in 2025, per external reporting.

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