Patents by Decade
Patents through the decades.
Six eras of US invention, from the dawn of the microprocessor to the age of generative AI. Each decade page collects the most-cited patents of its years, explained in plain English.
197019801990200020102020
1970 — 1979
The 1970s
Microprocessors, ARPANET, the first biotech firms.
1980 — 1989
The 1980s
The PC at home, the cell phone in hand, DNA in a vial.
1990 — 1999
The 1990s
The web goes public; search, e-commerce, and GSM follow.
2000 — 2009
The 2000s
Smartphones, social networks, consumer GPS, genome sequencing.
2010 — 2019
The 2010s
Cloud, deep learning, CRISPR, mRNA, and the EV takeoff.
2020 — 2029
The 2020s
Generative AI, mRNA vaccines, quantum, GLP-1s.