A research report recently released by GreyB, a Singapore-based consulting firm, shows that although Huawei ranks first in the number of patents held for the Wi-Fi 7 standard, at the national level, China has 786 patents, while the United States has 1,300 patents, with the latter taking the lead overall.
Ranking of Wi-Fi 7 patent manufacturers: Huawei No. 1, Xiaomi No. 8
This report deeply analyzes the data contributed by the Wi-Fi 7 standard from January 2016 to December 2024, aiming to provide comprehensive and actionable insights into the Wi-Fi 7 patent field.
In terms of the number of Wi-Fi 7 patent families held, Huawei, LG, Intel, Qualcomm, and MediaTek rank in the top five, and these five companies together own 50% of the total number of Wi-Fi 7 patent families.
Top 10 manufacturers in terms of number of Wi-Fi 7 patents
The manufacturers ranked 6th to 10th are Samsung, Canon, Xiaomi, Sony and OPPO. Compared with the top five manufacturers, they have a smaller proportion of authorized patents and a larger proportion of patents in application.
Wi-Fi 7 patent country ranking: the United States ranks first and China ranks second
By country and region, American manufacturers rank first with 1,300 patents, while Chinese manufacturers rank second with 786. South Korea, Japan and the European Union rank third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Top 8 countries with the most Wi-Fi 7 patents
However, the report points out: “It is worth noting that the Wi-Fi 7 intellectual property (IP) landscape is still in dynamic development. Many patent applications that have been filed in recent years have not yet been published, and as the standard matures, a clearer picture of IP ownership and trends will emerge. These insights are critical to developing licensing strategies and grasping the competitive landscape of Wi-Fi 7.”
Compared with other countries and regions in the world, the United States has achieved significant growth in the number of Wi-Fi 7 patent families and is in a leading position overall. However, compared with the Wi-Fi 6 era, the Wi-Fi 7 patent portfolios of OEM manufacturers such as Xiaomi and OPPO from China have increased significantly, while the patent portfolios of US companies such as Qualcomm and Ericsson have declined, indicating that patents in this field are in dynamic development.
Overall, Wi-Fi 7 covers 11,500 patents and 3,000 patent families, but the report warns that due to the lack of a patent pool mechanism, the field faces a high risk of licensing disputes and litigation.
“Many of these would be classified as standard essential patents (SEPs), but limited transparency under IEEE policy makes it challenging to determine which patents are truly essential,” the report states. “The lack of clarity leads to uncertainty around royalty obligations, licensing negotiations, and ownership. Further complicating the situation is the overlap in innovation among multiple contributors, which often leads to patent ownership disputes, questions about the validity of some SEPs, and potential litigation.”
Wi-Fi 7 Future Outlook: Promotion and Certification Will Drive New Applications
Looking ahead, the report concludes: “Wi-Fi 7 market promotion activities have begun and are expected to gain stronger growth momentum in the next few years and may follow a similar development pattern to Wi-Fi 6.”
For example, the Wi-Fi 6 standard was approved in 2021, and IP transaction volume increased significantly. And Wi-Fi 7 is about to be completed, and its IP transaction volume may show an upward trend in 2025 and 2026. Therefore, now is the best time to identify potential sellers to strengthen Wi-Fi 7 product portfolios and secure OEM product lines.
The Wi-Fi Alliance officially launched the certification process for Wi-Fi 7 compatible devices at the beginning of last year, which means that these devices can interoperate with other devices using this wireless standard.
The alliance said that Wi-Fi 7 will give rise to new technology use cases and enhance existing applications and activities, including multi-user AR/VR/XR, immersive 3D training, high-end gaming, hybrid office, industrial IoT and automotive applications.