The results are in: this year’s Top 100 Global Innovators™ are ready for you to explore.
Every year since 2012, our Top 100 Global Innovators report showcases the world’s most innovative organizations. We put a spotlight on the companies and institutions that have enriched the world through high-impact innovation, and we celebrate the curiosity, commitment and creativity they exhibit and inspire.
Keep reading to learn about:
- what it means to be a Top 100 Global Innovator,
- our new methodology, where the best ideas compete equally,
- modern innovators: data and insights beyond the Top 100,
- the most innovative companies in 2022: a snapshot,
- or view our Top 100 Global Innovators 2022 program now for more insights.
What it means to be a Top 100 Global Innovator
Our annual report identifies the 100 organizations that sit at the top of the global innovation ecosystem. They demonstrate the capabilities, consistency and creativity to deliver novel ideas, solve complex challenges and create new value.
In today’s environment, this level of achievement has become even more difficult. The pace of innovation has increased, and the speed of technological advancements has led to rapid development and product lifecycles. Combined with the varying forces of globalized markets, digital transformation and fragmented, more collaborative value chains, we continue to see an avalanche of inventive activity.
The rise of patents is coming from big and small organizations alike. While most are incubated in large companies and institutions, we see more and more local players come to the fore. Many are breaking new ground in areas not previously reflected in the patenting process.
The vast number of patented ideas created year on year has opened the door to countless opportunities, but it has also introduced challenges.
Innovation is a costly and risky endeavor. With more data and IP assets now than ever before, process friction and decision-making have become challenges for innovative organizations. It is increasingly difficult to identify white spaces and gaps in the market, keep abreast of the competitive landscape and mitigate risk in a geographically diverse workforce. This is all while reducing costs and bringing better products to market, faster.
The most innovative organizations named in our program have successfully navigated these changing trends. They have shown consistent ingenuity and brought novel ideas to market in today’s global trade climate.
To hear from the Top 100 Global Innovators themselves, stay tuned for our upcoming webinars and podcasts for their insights, experience and what it means to lead at this scale.
Our new methodology, where the best innovators compete equally
The way ideas are formed is evolving. Innovation is happening at a record-breaking pace in a highly complex and disruptive ecosystem. That means measuring innovation now requires more sophistication, on a more even field, using a deeper level of data exploration and comparison than ever before.
That is why, for the first time, we have refreshed the methodology used to calculate the Top 100 Global Innovators list.
Evaluating the increase in data volume is paradoxical; as the difficulty of measuring excellence becomes more acute and more difficult, it also makes for a better statistical environment. This challenge provides an opportunity for calculating variance and natural patterns in patent data. When we have many millions of records, organized by the unique invention structure of the Derwent World Patents Index™ (DWPI™), we can identify trends and movements in technology and innovation with precision and clarity.
With that in mind, our new model of innovation measurement focuses on consistent high performance and scale in innovativeness, where all ideas compete equally. We do this using a twin-track approach. One approach looks at the volume of inventive activity and where it comes from. The other approach baselines each idea, whereby every invention in our DWPI database returns a Derwent Strength Index™ based on factors including their influence, success, globalization and technical distinctiveness.
You can read more about our refreshed methodology or see who the Top 100 Global Innovators are today.
Modern innovators: data and insights beyond the Top 100
Built from a holistic combination of new solutions and high-value data sets, our 2022 methodology enables us to measure scale, impact and consistency against the backdrop of today’s changing global innovation trends. Moreover, it allows us to extend the view beyond the Top 100 Global Innovators to better understand the innovation ecosystem.
With our Complete Global Innovators dataset, including the top 2,000 organizations longlisted in the process, we can visualize the performance of countries, regions and industry sectors.
This allows a deeper view into each industry, highlighting which countries and regions are taking the lead in key sectors.
Our Top 100 Global Innovators program provides a level of insight that goes beyond naming the most innovative organizations worldwide, offering information to help companies and institutions guide and prioritize innovation and intellectual property.
Learn more about obtaining our Complete Global Innovators dataset and the ways we can help you to unlock the potential of IP by contacting us here.
The most innovative companies in 2022: a snapshot
The Top 100 Global Innovators 2022 come from 12 countries and regions. Japan tops the list with the most Top 100 Global Innovators (35). It is followed by the United States (18), Taiwan and Germany (nine each). France comes in next (eight), followed by Mainland China and South Korea (five each).
Other key findings include:
- Automotive firms doubled to 12 in 2022 and include companies predicted in the Innovators to Watch reports in 2020 and 2021.
- Aerospace and defense firms saw a 100% increase.
- This year saw a growing prominence of electronics manufacturers and semiconductor fabrication firms based in Taiwan.
- Mainland Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba is a first-time entrant alongside affiliate and digital payment giant Ant Group.
- Three research organizations make the list this year—one in Taiwan and two in France.
Congratulations again to the Top 100 Global Innovators 2022.
Discover more about the world’s most innovative organizations today. Learn about our program and methodology, and see our full Top 100 list for 2022, which you can view by industry, country and region.
