Patent Drop

In-depth analysis and disruptive technology with a unique and exclusive lens at the earliest stage of innovation. Read by builders and investors in the future of technology.

Electric Vehicles

Ford Balances Charging Demand to Get More EVs on the Road

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The lack of charging infrastructure in the US has hurt consumer sentiment towards EVs. Ford may be looking at ways to fix it.

3 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft May Give its AI Chatbots a Personal Touch

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Its patent to speed up interactions between you and your chatbot signals a growing interest in personalized AI.

2 min read
Social Media

Google May Bring AI to YouTube Shopping

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The filing adds to its AI-powered ad tech, and fuels growing competition to make social media shoppable.

2 min read
Big Tech

Special Report: Meta’s Many Changes

Photo by Anthony Quintano via CC BY 2.0

In the 20 years since Facebook was first formed, Meta has morphed into something far larger than a simple social media platform.

6 min read
Technology

Boeing’s AI Inspector Could Offer a Sharper Look at its Planes

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Amid backlash over its safety practices, AI could help Boeing catch what the human eye may miss.

3 min read
Big Tech

Apple Cuts Though the Noise with AI Optical Detection Patent

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The filing adds to the company’s pursuit to upgrade its speech detection tech, as well as its growing AI plans.

2 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Peels Back the Layers of its Deep Learning Models

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Models that can explain how they draw their conclusions can help fight hallucination and build user trust.

2 min read
Social Media

Snap Might Use AR to Make Reading Fun

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The company’s patent for “enhanced reading” using AR glasses could create visualizations of what you’re reading.

2 min read
Big Tech

Google Patent Could Track Users Based on Wi-Fi Connection

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

This tech could be used for automatic control of certain devices in a building, but also may present privacy concerns.

2 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Baidu’s Deep Learning Patent Could Add to AI Smartphones

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Baidu wants to help chatbots work outside their wheelhouse with a patent that lets AI models lean on other apps for information.

2 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Adobe’s Multimodal Model Could Make AI Summaries Clearer

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The company may be looking to boost its AI capabilities after the fallout of it’s proposed acquisition of competitor Figma.

2 min read
Banking

Visa May Use Doppelgangers to Fight Payments Fraud

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The tech could help the financial institution find cyber criminals and figure out your spending habits early.

3 min read
Big Tech

Nvidia May Want AI to Create Its Own Data

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

While the proposed tech could save a lot of resources in AI training, it faces major problems if it can reproduce biases and inaccuracies.

2 min read
Big Tech

Microsoft Makes Chatbots Mindful with Emotion Detection Patent

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The company’s patent for a wellness chatbot could require users to have a lot of trust in the company to protect their data.

2 min read
Social Media

Pinterest’s Spam Scraping Patent Could Fight Misinformation

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Pinterest wants to kick spam to the curb with a patent that uses AI to detect malicious links.

2 min read
Blockchain

Intel’s “Proof of Creation” Tech Could Take On OpenSea

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Intel said the purpose of this tech is to help creators of and buyers of digital assets “assert their identity” without a marketplace.

2 min read
Consumer

Apple Seeks Patent for Health-Based Trigger Warnings

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The filing adds to its ever-growing health tech capabilities — and its growing mountain of data to keep safe.

2 min read
Autos

Ford Wants to Track Your Test Drive

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The automakers recent patent for in-vehicle data tracking and analysis adds to the future of connected vehicles.

2 min read
Big Tech

Amazon’s Factory Robot Patent Could Fight Understaffing

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

This kind of patent is particularly significant amid the company’s ongoing battles with workers aiming to unionize.

2 min read
Artificial Intelligence

Nvidia Catches Feelings With its Emotion Reading AI Patent

Photo via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Nvidia wants to pick out specific emotions in your voice with deep learning, but reading your feelings may require more context.

3 min read