USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Waymo Llc

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 1,901 granted patents across 130 technology areas, active 2017–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B60W (CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

1,901

Total patents granted

130

CPC technology areas

18.2

Avg claims per patent

+389%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Waymo holds 1,901 US patents across 130 technology areas, rank #211 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#211
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 0.1%
by Innovation Score (74.0/100): 18.2
avg claims per patent: +389%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Waymo Llc has been granted 1,901 US utility patents between 2017 and 2025, placing Waymo Llc at rank #211 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 130 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 18.2 claims per patent with primary concentration in B60W (CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE). As a US Corporation, Waymo Llc is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Waymo sits between Facebook Technologies, Llc (1,950 patents, rank #207) and Microsoft Corporation (1,880 patents, rank #215) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 74.0/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 1,578 grants, compared with 323 in the 2015–2019 window, a +389% shift in five-year velocity. An acceleration of this magnitude signals aggressive R&D investment and expanding technical ambition. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Waymo Llc's 18.2 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a diversified footprint across 100+ CPC subclasses spreads risk across many technology fronts. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Waymo Llc against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Facebook

1,950
Casio Computer

1,949
Mazda Motor

1,922
Sonos

1,911
Waymo ◀

1,901
Bridgestone

1,895
L'oreal

1,890
Tsinghua Universi…

1,881
Microsoft

1,880

What this shows Waymo holds 1,901 patents at rank #211, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Waymo

By rank, the assignees closest to #211 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B60W (Conjoint Control OF Vehicle Sub-units OF Different TYPE O…)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Waymo's primary technology class.

Waymo's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

74 Top 1% higher than 99% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2017–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2017–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Waymo Llc patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2017	71	3.7%
2018	105	5.5%
2019	147	7.7%
2020	176	9.3%
2021	213	11.2%
2022	236	12.4%
2023	372	19.6%
2024	358	18.8%
2025	223	11.7%

Which technologies does Waymo Llc patent most?

B60W - CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT 709

G05D - SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES 698

G01S - RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES 655

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 453

G08G - TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS 346

G01C - MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY 310

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 210

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 186

B60R - VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 183

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 160

G06N - COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS 158

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 129

G06Q - INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 125

B62D - MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS 96

H01Q - ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS 79

Top 15 of 130 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#211

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

74.0 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Waymo Llc hold?

Waymo Llc holds 1,901 US granted patents filed between 2017 and 2025, spanning 130 technology areas.

What is Waymo Llc's Innovation Score?

Waymo Llc has an Innovation Score of 74.0 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Waymo Llc focus on?

Waymo Llc's top technology area is B60W (CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT) with 709 patents. The company has filed patents in 130 CPC subclasses total.

Is Waymo Llc's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Waymo Llc's recent filing velocity is +389% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

What does claim depth mean for Waymo Llc's patents?

Waymo Llc's patents average 18.2 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Waymo Llc patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Waymo's 1,901 grants land it in the top 0.1% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Waymo ranks #211 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in B60W - see who else leads that technology area. B60W leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.