Cars are quickly becoming the next big area for tech. Apple and Google are offering their own user interfaces for vehicle infotainment systems. Google has been working on autonomous vehicles for years, and now it appears Apple is testing out self-driving cars too.
But in terms of who has the biggest war chest in patents so far, Samsung far exceeds all its competitors. For automobile-related patents filed in the past 10 years, Samsung leads with 510, with 308, Microsoft with 222, and finally Apple with 83, according to patent numbers pulled by SmartUp Legal.
The majority of Samsung’s auto patents are in battery technology. With Samsung’s massive manufacturing capabilities, the South Korean company has its own Lithium-ion battery division called Samsung SDI that has existed since 2000. The business supplies its power cells for BMW’s i3 and i8 electric cars.
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