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PatentBrief

Patent Intelligence · Technology Convergence

Where do technologies cross-pollinate?

The most interesting IP often lives at the intersection of two domains. This matrix maps every patent that carries multiple domain tags — revealing where AI bleeds into biotech, where semiconductors meet telecom, and where the next wave of convergence is already happening.

Domain pairs analyzed

28

Largest overlap

Consumer Electronics × Software

Cross-domain patents

1,245

Largest Cross-Domain Overlaps

Domain pairs with the most patents carrying both tags — ranked by overlap count.

1

Consumer Electronics×Software

220 patents

avg 134.1 cit.

47% of Consumer Electronics

2

Software×Telecom

173 patents

avg 139.0 cit.

55% of Software

3

Consumer Electronics×Telecom

167 patents

avg 140.1 cit.

36% of Consumer Electronics

4

AI & ML×Software

133 patents

avg 36.9 cit.

82% of AI & ML

5

Biotechnology×Pharma

99 patents

avg 454.2 cit.

71% of Biotechnology

6

AI & ML×Consumer Electronics

87 patents

avg 36.2 cit.

53% of AI & ML

7

AI & ML×Telecom

79 patents

avg 37.4 cit.

49% of AI & ML

8

Consumer Electronics×Semiconductors

77 patents

avg 203.8 cit.

17% of Consumer Electronics

9

Semiconductors×Telecom

42 patents

avg 187.8 cit.

38% of Semiconductors

10

Semiconductors×Software

26 patents

avg 296.8 cit.

23% of Semiconductors

Single-Domain Patent Counts

Reference: total patents per domain (base for computing overlap percentages).

DomainPatents in DB
Consumer Electronics
468
Software
317
Telecom
253
AI & ML
163
Biotechnology
139
Semiconductors
112
Pharma
102
Automotive
61
Clean Energy
45
Gene Editing
11

Most Interconnected Domains

Which domains co-appear with the most other domains? High connectivity = technology cross-pollinator.

1

Consumer Electronics

7 domain partners

2

Software

7 domain partners

3

Biotechnology

7 domain partners

4

Semiconductors

7 domain partners

5

Telecom

6 domain partners

6

AI & ML

6 domain partners

7

Automotive

6 domain partners

8

Clean Energy

6 domain partners

Why cross-domain patents matter

Patents at the intersection of two domains are often the most commercially potent — they can be asserted against a wider range of products and companies. An AI+pharmaceutical patent can block both software platforms and drug development workflows. Cross-domain inventors are also often the most innovative, drawing from multiple knowledge bases.

Reading the overlap percentage

When AI+Biotech shows 18% overlap for AI patents, it means 18% of all AI patents also carry a biotech tag. This is a directional signal: the higher the percentage, the more the domains have merged in practice. Percentages above 10% indicate significant technology fusion; above 25% suggests the "second domain" has become a primary application area.

Which convergences are accelerating?

The AI+Healthcare convergence (covering AI+pharmaceutical and AI+biotech) is the fastest-moving in our dataset. Gene editing + pharmaceutical overlap is large because many gene editing patents are specifically therapeutic. Semiconductors+telecommunications overlap reflects the hardware stack underlying 5G and Wi-Fi 6 deployment.

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