The DEFINITIVE GUIDE to

CONNECTED INNOVATION INTELLIGENCE for

SEMICONDUCTORS
 Executive Summary

T
he semiconductor industry is ripe with growth, challenges, and
unprecedented opportunities. Currently worth $555.9 billion dollars, the
industry is expected to reach a $601 billion dollar valuation by the end of
2022. Although growth is on the horizon, so are industry-wide challenges.
Market volatility, intellectual property security issues, and rapid technological
advancements make it difficult for semiconductor organizations to stay ahead of
emerging trends and out-innovate competitors.

This definitive guide provides an in-depth analysis of the current challenges

facing semiconductor professionals and organizations, and how they can
leverage Connected Innovation Intelligence (CII) to navigate and overcome
these issues.

Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), CII provides users with access to millions of
regularly updated data points sourced using best-in-class algorithms and expert
manual curation. From patent insights to financial news, market and research
reports, academic studies, and beyond, CII enables users to explore industry
trends and portfolio shifts, improve innovation pipeline, and uncover real-time
insights on new research and technology areas. Equipped with accurate, timely
insights, the probability of success increases, and resource waste decreases.
Contents
Introduction 5
Part 1: What is Connected Innovation Intelligence? 6
CII for IP Professionals 8
CII for R&D Professionals 9
Case Study: TSMC 10
CII for Fabrication Sites 11
Part 2: Current Challenges Facing the Semiconductor Industry 12
Challenge 1: Market Uncertainty & Volatility 13
Challenge 2: IP Security 16
Challenge 3: Rapid Technological Advancement 17
Part 3: How to Accelerate R&D & Reduce IP Risk with CII 20
Using CII to Uncover Semiconductor Market Trends 22
Monitoring Competitor Activity 22
Uncovering VC Investments, M&A Activity, and Patent Data 23
Discovering Emerging Trends 24
Protecting IP and Increasing Search Efficiency with CII 24
CII Advanced Search 26
CII Search Refining 27
Enhancing Collaboration with CII 27
Analyzing Patent Records to Extract Meaningful Insights 27
Using CII to Uncover Relevant Analytics 29
CII Landscaping Tool 29
Case Study: Ambature 31
CII Charts & Analytics 32
Is Connected Innovation Intelligence the right Choice for YOU? 34
About PatSnap 34
Citations 34
Additional Resources 35
 5

Introduction
Semiconductors power the modern world. These Digital-based goods, worth $0.4 trillion in 2020 and
compact and powerful chips are responsible for the account for 22.5% of global GDP, are expected to
Information Age and can be found virtually everywhere increase to one trillion dollars by 2035. This growth
— including in smartphones, computers, appliances, wouldn’t be possible without semiconductors.
automobiles, and medical devices. As such, it
comes as no surprise the industry is an economic The bottom line: without semiconductors, we wouldn’t
powerhouse, worth a whopping $555.9 billion dollars have the modern (and lifesaving) conveniences we’ve
as of 2021, up 26% from 2020. The market is poised come to rely on.
for significant growth this year as well, with the
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) predicting In this Definitive Guide to Connected Innovation
the industry valuation will reach $601 billion dollars by Intelligence (CII) for the Semiconductor Industry,
the year’s end. we explore:

This unprecedented growth is due in large part to 1. What CII is and how it helps
COVID-19, which ushered in remote work alongside semiconductor professionals
the temporary closure of fabrications plants (also
known as ‘fabs’), where semiconductors are made. As 2. The 3 biggest challenges semiconductor
consumers rushed to upgrade their electronic devices professionals face
and home entertainment systems, and chip production
shut down, demand exceeded supply. 3. How to leverage CII to accelerate
semiconductor innovation
Additionally, geopolitical tensions, especially related
to the United States and China, as well as shifting
business models for semiconductor production, the
rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced,
AI-powered technologies have also contributed to
supply chain issues. This combination created the
perfect storm of “supply versus demand” and led
to a global chip shortage impacting businesses and
consumers alike.

This shortage is not without cost. For example, the

global automotive industry lost around $210 billion
dollars of revenue in 2021 and produced eight million
less vehicles than planned. On the consumer side,
continued delays and price increases are expected.

Organizations vying for a piece of the multi-hundred-

billion-dollar semiconductor pie must learn how to
out-innovate their competitors while at the same
time working to overcome the above challenges.
Fortunately, technological advancements in AI and
machine learning are making it faster and more
efficient for semiconductor professionals to analyze
competitor patent activity, uncover whitespace,
evaluate key industry players, and make more informed
business decisions.

As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace,

thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and the IoT,
semiconductors will continue to grow exponentially.
In addition to powering the Information Age,
semiconductors also fuel the economy.
 6

Part 1:
What is CII?
 7

CII is the process of using AI-powered technology to

comb through millions of global data points, segment
them by industry and relevance, and connect them
together in a way that makes sense. This process
enables users to quickly sift through vast amounts
of data, correlate relevant information, and gain a
360-degree view of a topic, such as a company, an
industry, a technology area, or an entire market.

Equipped with accurate data, intellectual property (IP),

R&D, and legal professionals can:

• Simplify complex search results and extract

meaningful insights

• Conduct high-level market analysis

• Identify early-stage innovation opportunities

• Explore industry trends and competitor

portfolio shifts

• Uncover real-time insights on patent activity, new

research, and technology areas

• Improve innovation pipeline

PatSnap is a rapidly growing platform for innovation

intelligence and an example of true CII. Through
PatSnap’s AI technology — including machine learning,
computer vision, and Optical Character Recognition
(OCR) — users have access to an unrivaled breadth
of data that is connected in a meaningful way. These
connected insights provide innovators with a clear
understanding of the market implications, possibilities,
and opportunities.
 8

Connected Innovation Intelligence for Semiconductor

Professionals & Organizations

CII for IP Professionals

The intellectual property (IP) landscape for the
semiconductor industry is multifaceted and complex.
A single chip can be patented in a variety of ways
due to its unique fabrication process and purpose.
As a result, uncovering IP trends can be difficult (at
best) without expert-level knowledge and years
of experience. In the past, filing, prosecuting, and
monitoring patent applications was a manual process
for both the applicant and the attorney. In addition to
being time-consuming, this approach was also costly
and demanding.

However, as technology rapidly advances and AI-

powered technology dominates the market, searching,
analyzing, and monitoring industry developments (as
well as global IP processes) is easier than ever. With
CII, IP professionals gain access to simplified keyword
searches, thereby empowering them to efficiently
identify relevant IP documentation. Additionally,
sophisticated classification searching and filtering aids
in removing irrelevant records from search results,
helping professionals uncover IP relevant to their
specific projects.

Thus, companies can make more informed decisions

concerning investments, minimize the threat of
litigation and look for opportunities to license, sell,
or buy IP assets. These actions can be achieved
by looking at insights, metric representations, and
collaborating with colleagues and global IP offices with
just one click of a button. Plus, companies can move
more IP work in-house, thereby reducing cost, saving
time on searches, and collaborating via workspaces
which enables organizations to avoid the duplication
of work.
 9

Connected Innovation Intelligence for Semiconductor

Professionals & Organizations (Cont’d)

CII for R&D Professionals

Due to rapid technological advancements, as well
as short product life cycles (think the Apple iPhone),
R&D professionals need to have a keen understanding
of industry trends, particularly concerning where
technology is headed. Otherwise, it will be difficult
at best, and impossible at worst, to launch new chip
innovations in a timely manner. 10,000+ 6,000,000+ 2,000,000+ 258,000+
clinical trials companies funded research government
grants
According to a McKinsey study of more than 2,000
integrated-circuit projects, “...companies often
drastically underestimate staffing requirements and
have to play catch-up later in the life of a project.”
Additionally, this report mentioned companies often
867,000+ 900,000+ 80,000+ 10,000,000+
miss deadlines and overspend budgets. As a result, VC investments market reports M&A events news stories
competing organizations that work faster and more
efficiently can begin taking on more market share.

With CII, R&D professionals can leverage AI-powered

semantic search and access relevant patents and
scientific literature to streamline the research process. 220,000,000+ 130,000,000+ 441,000+ 71,000+
industry papers patents tech blogs tech offerings

Additionally, researchers can comb through millions of

scientific literature trends, grants, tech blogs, market
and commercial insights, and patent activity to identify
whitespace, perform in-depth analysis and stay ahead
of emerging trends.
 10

Case Study: TSMC

Market Cap
USD
500,000 B

Taiwan Semiconductor
400,000 B Manufacturing Co, Ltd.

300,000 B Intel Corp

200,000 B QUALCOMM,
Inc.
100,000 B
Texas Instruments
Incorporated
0
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to continue launching new innovations while also
(TSMC) is an excellent example of what happens when manufacturing their own chips.
R&D falls behind, and specialized organizations take
the lead. Today, TSMC leads the foundry industry and is one of
two companies capable of making the most advanced,
Founded by Dr. Morris Chang (often referred to as “the 5-nanometer chips found in the latest smartphones.
father of semiconductors”) in 1987, TSMC began as Additionally, Intel outsources some of its chip
a collaboration between the Taiwanese government, production to TSMC, and Apple relies on it for
tech giant Philips, and a handful of investors. The every iPhone.
business plan — to focus only on manufacturing
chips for other industries (known as a ‘foundry’), was Now a tech giant, TSMC’s story comes with a warning
disruptive and met with industry-wide skepticism. for organizations currently dominating the market:
At the time, Intel and Texas Instruments dominated disruption is just around the corner. To remain
the market. Both organizations designed and competitive, R&D professionals must leverage data
manufactured their own chips. to keep a pulse on industry trends and market shifts,
otherwise they’ll be ill-equipped to make predictions
However, Dr. Chang saw something other companies about where the market is headed, resulting in
didn’t — he recognized the rapid pace of technological resource waste and loss of market share.
change, and predicted companies wouldn’t be able

TSMC has more than half the contract chip

manufacturing market
Contract chip foundry market share % by revenue, Q2 2021
TSMC 52.9%

Samsung 17.4%

UMC 7.1%

GloablFoundries 5.4%

SMIC 2.5%

Other 14.7%

Source: Investment Monitor

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) holds the majority of market share in the contract foundry area.
TSMC is Asia’s highest valued company at $600B USD.
 11

CII for Fabrication Sites

A fabrications plant, or ‘fab’ for short, is a For example, 200mm wafer capacity manufacturing
manufacturing plant where raw silicon wafers are remains in high demand on the consumer side but
turned into integrated circuits (IC). This process takes has very few fab sites. While key events in the global
place in a highly controlled environment equipped with economy result in semiconductor supply chain
a state-of-the-art air ventilation system to prevent shortages, the 200mm wafer remains the highest in
dust particles from contaminating the chips. demand. Despite this, there are global plans to build 24
new 300mm wafer fab plants in 2022, but only 10 new
In addition to being high maintenance, fabs are 200mm fab plants. If these plans are approved, supply
also expensive to build and sustain. Depending shortages will continue. What’s more, these fab plants
on the fab type, constructing a new site can cost are geographically clustered in dense areas. In fact, the
anywhere between $1.5 billion dollars to more than US, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and China, make up
$10 billion dollars and take several years to complete. nearly 60% of the chip making concentration.
Furthermore, increased equipment costs coupled
with inflation are adding to the global chip shortage.
As technology continues to advance, and industries
require smaller, faster chips that use less power, more
fab sites will need to be built or updated to meet
this demand.

Top 4 Foundries Application Filing Trends, Last 10 Years

However, large multinational enterprises are now With CII, an organization looking to build a new fab
pushing for the “localization” of their fabrication site or expand upon an existing one can conduct
plants, as the uncertainty of supply chains can have more diligent, thorough research prior to the decision-
an adverse impact on revenue. The just-in-time making process. For example, when determining how
production of semiconductor chips, where fabrication to design for the future — including what companies
plants account for bulk requests related to demand, are leading the charge (such as those illustrated in the
will soon be a trend of the past. Large organizations chart above which details the top four foundries based
such as Apple and Tesla are moving away from this on application filing trends over the past 10 years)
model in favor of pre-purchasing to avoid loss and what materials to use for new innovations, global
in revenue. data can be analyzed including patent information,
technology news, investment data, merger and
acquisition activity, and more. Equipped with these
insights, organizations can make better predictions
about the future, and how to remain competitive.
 12

Part 2:
Current
Challenges
Facing the
Semiconductor
Industry
 13

Challenge 1: Market
Uncertainty & Volatility
From geopolitical tensions between the US and China,
to uncertainties about the future of post-pandemic
life, market uncertainty and volatility represents a
major challenge for semiconductor professionals and
organizations alike.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged in 2020,

the industry noted higher-than-normal demands
for personal devices like smartphones and laptops.
Worldwide PC shipments grew by 4.8% in 2020 (noting
a 10.7% increase in the fourth quarter) resulting in the
highest global PC growth in more than a decade.
 14

As the demand for consumer electronics skyrocketed — including what technological advancements are
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so did news coverage underway, to make the right investments in research
highlighting the newfound demand for these products and development. In the absence of predictive analysis,
(laptops, tablets, cellphones). The chart above organizations will fall behind.
showcases mentions in the news, which increased
nearly 200% from 2019 to 2020. Additionally, if tensions between the US and China
continue, semiconductor organizations may experience
Even as life returns to “normal,” remote work is here disruption in the supply chain. To mitigate that risk,
to stay. According to a recent PEW Research Center Taiwan-based TSMC (which owns 53% of the global
survey, 60% of US workers indicated they want to market share) is building a factory in Phoenix, Arizona
continue working from home, regardless of whether which is expected to begin production in 2024.
their offices reopen. Many employees who aren’t given
the option to continue telecommuting are quitting, As opposed to taking a “wait and see approach,”
ushering in a new age of work. organizations can be proactive and leverage CII to gain
a better understanding of how the market is trending
While this is good news for the industry, because it and who the key players are.
guarantees strong sales and growth for consumer
electronics, it’s also challenging. To capture market Below, we’ll walk you through an example of CII in
share, semiconductor organizations need to have a action. We ran several searches, including a technology
strong grasp on how the marketing is trending and market search to uncover key players, patent
activity, and the fastest growing sectors.

Starting with the technology search, we can quickly identify the top patent holders in this space. In this case,
Samsung, Toshiba, and SK Hynix lead.
 15

In the market analysis report on semiconductors below, the companies mentioned most often in reports are
outlined. These insights highlight key players in the space to monitor.

Drilling further, we uncover the largest global market sectors currently dominating the industry. Unsurprisingly,
electronics contract manufacturing leads with a valuation of $933.14 billion dollars, followed closely by the
photonics market with a $861.01 billion dollar valuation.

In terms of market projections, we can run a quick analysis to highlight the fastest growing sectors, uncover their CARG
as well as projected valuations for a given time period. In this analysis, we see the markets expected to have the highest
valuation by 2025 are Automotive Integrated Circuits, Artificial Intelligence Chipsets and RF Power Semiconductors.

These insights can be drilled down further and analyzed to extract relevant information, uncover key market
happenings, and inform strategic business decisions.
 16

Challenge 2: IP Security
According to the SIA, research and development conducted a survey and found more than 60% of
investment in the US semiconductor industry is one of semiconductor companies report IP challenges
the costliest sectors. It’s also one of the most infringed. have had a negative impact on their bottom line.
SEMI, an organization dedicated to serving the design Organizations mentioned patent infringement and
and manufacturing chain for the electronics industry, counterfeiting as the primary concerns.

60%
of companies reporting
IP challenges and IP theft
resulting in $400 billion
annually for US companies

The risk of IP theft is exacerbated by the fact that many As such, IP security is a real challenge for organizations.
chip companies serve other industries, and as a result, To reduce the likelihood of infringement, proactive risk
improper handling of trade secrets, patent data, and management — including monitoring patent activity, is
IP theft often occurs. Additionally, global technology a crucial part of the overall IP defense strategy.
transfers can be risky for certain organizations and cost
billions of dollars. According to the US IP Commission,
theft from Chinese companies or state-owned
enterprises accounts for economic losses in the US of
more than $400 billion dollars annually.
 17

Challenge 3: Rapid Technological Advancement

The chip industry is one of the fastest-paced, most However, experts (including Gordon Moore himself)
R&D-intensive sectors in the world. Moore’s Law, expect this law to become invalid by 2025.
coined by Intel’s co-founder Gordon Moore, states the
number of transistors in a dense circuit will double (in The reality is, as chips become smaller and technology
speed and processing capabilities) approximately every more advanced, it’s hard for organizations to keep up.
two years. Meanwhile, costs will be cut in half. Thus far, For example, in the 1990s, the US owned 37% of the
the accuracy of Moore’s Law has been spot-on as the global semiconductor manufacturing market. Today it
number of transistors per wafer has increased by about owns just 12%.
10 million since its introduction in 1975.

In the early 1990’s Japan, followed by the US, were the What’s more, in July 2020 Intel announced it was
top patent holders in the semiconductor industry. As about a year behind in developing the next generation
of the late 2000’s, there has been a pivot with huge of chip technology. The bottom line is research and
increases in patent filings in China, resulting in them development in the semiconductor sector is difficult,
surpassing both Japan and US. time-consuming, and full of challenges.
 18

Academic research trends for semiconductor devices, PatSnap Discovery

Accelerating innovation means having access to data

that enables professionals to predict market shifts,
uncover emerging trends, identify whitespace,
and seamlessly collaborate to avoid the duplication
of efforts.
 19

60% of semiconductor
companies report IP challenges
have a negative impact on
bottom line. To maximize ROI
on innovation while proactively
managing risk, innovation
intelligence strategies -
such as monitoring patent filing
and other innovation activity in
geographies that are critical to
chip manufacturing -
must be deployed throughout
the enterprise.
 20

Part 3:
How to
Accelerate R&D
& Reduce IP
Risk with CII
 21

In a time of exponential growth, and global uncertainty,

streamlining the research and development process
and accelerating innovation is key to remaining
competitive. In this section, we’ll show you how to
leverage CII to overcome the challenges listed above,
expedite R&D, protect IP, and expedite innovation.
 22

Using CII to Uncover Semiconductor Market Trends

Earlier, we discussed how market volatility coupled with With CII, you uncover and connect various data points
fast-paced technological advancements make it difficult to answer business-altering questions such as, “What
for semiconductor organizations to build and sustain trends are likely to impact supply and demand in the
viable businesses. Now, we’ll demonstrate how to use future?” and “What are our competitors doing
CII to keep a pulse on market shifts, competitor activity, (and why)?”
technology trends, partnership opportunities, and
emerging players.

Monitoring Competitor Activity

With CII you can monitor competitor activity with Based on these findings, you can set an alert to track
ease. For example, in the chart above we ran a patent the patent activity of these three companies or all of
portfolio search to understand which companies the major players. This way, you can easily keep track of
dominate the patent sector in this space. Based on our patent portfolio changes.
findings, we see Samsung Electronics, Toshiba Corp,
and SK hynix Inc. Are the top three companies with the
largest semiconductor patent portfolios.

You can also analyze the patent applications over a set and Semiconductor Energy Laboratory, which account
amount of time. In the analysis above, organizations for 13.41% of the patent filing during this period.
applied for 255,166 semiconductor related patents
over a five-year period. This search illustrates the Data such as this will help you identify key players, as
fastest-growing patent holders, including Taiwan well as emerging organizations.
Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics,
 23

Uncovering VC Investments, M&A Activity, and Patent Data

If you’re interested in understanding VC investments, Notably, this graph shows a record-breaking investment
M&A activity, or financial data in general, Discovery can of $100 billion in 2018 from seven banks to US chipmaker
help with that, too. In this example, we are specifically Broadcom. This investment aided in their proposed
interested in investment history over the past decade so $117 billion acquisition of Qualcomm; however, the deal
we can understand how the financial market is trending. never came to fruition as former President Donald Trump
blocked the deal due to national security concerns.

Discovery can also help you keep a pulse on market This trend went hand-in-hand with non-essential
volatility. In the case of semiconductors, the onset of employees working from home and updating their
the COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in electronic devices such as laptops and phones as
investments (as shown above). a result.

Additionally, we can run a jurisdiction analysis to In the semiconductor industry, China leads with patent
understand which countries are leading the industry applications, which corresponds with China’s plans to
now, versus which countries will lead in the future. dominate the global chip market by 2025.
 24

Discovering Emerging Trends

With CII, you can also uncover new technologies and In the semiconductor space, Perovskite structures is
analyze how those technologies may disrupt the future the topic written about the most in academic studies,
of the industry. For example, the graph above compares with 903 papers in total.
emerging technologies in the semiconductor space to
academic literature published over the past three years. Other high-growth categories include van der
Waals force, Ternary operation, ferroelectricity, and
As illustrated, Halide (Metal-halide semiconductors or water splitting.
MHSs for short) has a three-year academic growth rate
of 22.8% with 308 papers published. The research areas These insights allow you to be at the forefront of
with the most academic papers (as indicated by node technological advancements, identify potential partners,
size) are the most popular topics in this technology space. and regularly assess or adapt your innovation strategy.

Protecting IP and Increasing Search Efficiency with CII:

Lack of IP protection costs semiconductor companies With CII, IP professionals can move beyond just
billions of dollars annually. As such, monitoring patent search and refinement, and leverage tools
infringements and maintaining a rigorous protection that streamline patent protection. In this section, we’ll
strategy are of the utmost importance. explore a handful of relevant tools and showcase how
they work.
 25

Advanced Searching with CII:

In contrast to traditional searching, which makes it difficult to find keywords or get an accurate depiction of the
market, CII empowers users to simplify complex search results and extract meaningful insights.
Using PatSnap’s “Advanced” search tool, users can quickly define what they’re looking for.

Advanced search empowers professionals to create a piece-by-piece query, and select the main fields and
keywords needed to conduct a proper analysis. This process provides users with rigorous control of the search,
thereby producing accurate, relevant results.

Additionally, the “Keyword Helper” is designed to provide users with relevant terms for searching. In the example
above, by using “semiconductor” as a search term, various other related terms are also offered to help expand
search criteria and accuracy, thereby reducing the likelihood of missing important information.
 26

CII Search Refining:

In the semiconductor space, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the vast amount of data available. For example,
when conducting freedom to operate (FTO) searches, researchers need to sift through all relevant prior art and
patent data.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Separating relevant versus irrelevant information is time-consuming
and tedious. But it doesn’t have to be. With CII, it’s easy to refine thousands (or more) search results down to the
most applicable patents. One of the most common filters is the simple legal status of a patent – if a patent is
inactive, it cannot be used as a prevention tool, giving others clearance with the technologies mentioned.

Another useful refinement is by IPC or CPC code – this allows you to focus your search on a particular application.
By using this refinement, you can uncover commercialized innovations and make practical predictions about future
progress in an area.

A final common refinement is by assignee. This will allow you to see active players and organizations within your field.
Additionally, it enables you to identify potential licensing partners, as well as primary (or up-and-coming) competitors.
 27

Take the image on the previous page as an example. Let’s say you’re interested in finding out more about the
semiconductor patents associated with AI. Using relevant refinements, you can reduce the initial search result
featuring 12,754 patents by adding filters. In this case, perhaps you want to search by jurisdiction, application year,
legal status, and specific IPC subgroups. These filters narrow your search to results hyper-relevant to your specific
needs and provide you with 39 associated records – a much more manageable number that you can analyze for FTO.

The Importance of Collaboration:

Beyond patent searching and reporting, businesses are beginning to understand how important it is to adopt
and encourage a culture of collaboration and transparency, allowing for cross-function partnerships. PatSnap’s
CII platform enables cross-department collaboration in real time with Workspace and simplifies C-suite
communication with customized visualizations and graphs.

Collaboration is key as IP and R&D teams need to communicate throughout the innovation lifecycle, otherwise,
inefficiencies such as duplication of work can occur. With CII, users can leverage Workspace, integrate their patent
strategy, align on priorities, and increase efficiency.

Workspace also allows users to manage work, capture important records, and generate different analyses and
indexing schemes for relevant applications. These insights and observations can then be shared with colleagues
and include assigned trackable tasks to be completed. Furthermore, teams can work collectively on a dataset,
thereby reducing siloed or duplicated work. This can be used for a variety of internal projects such as managing
R&D pipelines, competitors, or external licensing and M&A targets.

Analyzing Patent Records to Extract Meaningful Insights:

CII also allows users to analyze patent records at a granular level and extract meaningful insights about the IP
landscape. A few notable capabilities include:

1. Smart image

2. Similar patents

3. Claim comparisons

With smart image search, patent image labels are pulled effortlessly via AI and optical image recognition to provide
searchers with a visual map of the patent and explains what the key terms refer to. This enables all professionals,
regardless of prior IP experience, to understand what the patents mean.
 28

In conjunction, the “similar patents” feature allows you to pull up to 100 patents like the one you’re viewing. This
provides you with a more informed understanding of the technology landscape, including key players, similar research
happening, potential risks etc. This process includes calculating patents by keyword similarity, classification code
referencing, and backwards citations.

Additionally, with the claim comparison tool you can seamlessly compare the claims and descriptions for members of
the same patent family.

Take the above image as an example, we can see the changes in protection strategy from one patent family member
to another through the words highlighted in red and green. Red meaning text has been altered or removed, and green
shows newly added lines or the final changes made to the claims/descriptions.
 29

Using CII to Uncover Relevant Analytics:

CII Landscaping Tool:

Landscaping is the most efficient way to assess huge volumes of data related to information contained within
patents. Turning this data into a topography that can be visually explored, annotated and interrogated can help you
answer questions on whether your proposed inventions or similar inventions have already been patented, what the
level of patent activity around specific technologies is and the key actors in those spaces as well as identify white
space opportunity for innovation.

In emerging or competitive industries, such as semiconductors, by the time you complete a full research project
several weeks may have passed, and by this time new patents may have been filed, changing the landscape and
rendering your project outdated. By using an AI-developed 3D landscape, the time to produce or update your reports
is dramatically reduced and your resulting map will be dynamically linked to all the patents fitting your search criteria.
Your 3D landscape will constantly evolve as more patents are filed, ensuring you always have an accurate depiction
of the market you are analyzing.

By visualizing patent density and white spaces, color-coded by variables such as assignee or classification code (IPC,
CPC etc.), patterns and trends are more readily pronounced (compared to a narrow research question).

Take the above landscape as an example. Here, the patents for chips optimized for AI with active protection are
plotted. The peaks and troughs illustrate areas of high versus low patent density, and the proximity of the dots
(patents) indicate document similarity. The red squares represent Google, the blue squares represent Shanghai
Cambricon Information Tech Co., the yellow squares represent Intel, and the green squares represent IBM Corp.
Based on the grouping of “dots” in the various color-coded sectors, it becomes obvious that IBM currently dominates
the region of neural temporal coding, while Google dominates in matrix and vector computation units, and Shanghai
Cambricon dominates in Controller units, whereas Intel is evenly spread among the whole landscape.

We can further refine the landscape to see more specific data, understand a company’s movement and innovation
over time, or see which technology spaces are ripe with opportunities. Plus, grids can be overlaid to define
technology areas, as well as assignees, inventors, litigation, valuation or licensing data to help mitigate risk and
uncover whitespace.
 30

The complexity of analyzing freedom to operate is multiplied when your innovation falls within a highly specialized
domain such as semiconductors, where technical language can make it difficult to understand the key claims
and scope of the patent. When all the patents are placed onto a landscape, the most relevant patents (and those
which present the greatest risk of infringement to your research) become immediately obvious, as well as your key
competitors, meaning you can prioritize your efforts efficiently.

Furthermore, 3D landscape can be used to zero-in on a specific area of interest. By selecting the most relevant areas,
it’s easy to develop a highly customized landscape. The landscape shown above illustrates the sector related to neural
temporal coding and synaptic recognition and highlights additional details and whitespace.
 31

Case Study: Ambature

Liam Kelly,
Strategy & Emerging Technologies Analyst, Ambature

Ambature is an intellectual property licensing company The Advanced Search tool is excellent for finding
for advanced materials, device architectures, and patents of interest, keeping a pulse on the state of the
chip designs within the semiconductor industry. We art, and performing competitive analysis. Nearly half
focus on superconducting materials and quantum of Ambature’s IP portfolio is dedicated to computing
devices for sensing, high-performance, and quantum and sensing, while the other half is dedicated to clean
computing applications. PatSnap comprehensively energy—the generation, transmission, and storage of
and cost-effectively fulfills several important roles electricity. We do fundamental research, create IP and
that used to be performed by in-house and external chip designs in the area of applied superconductivity,
lawyers, enabling us to allocate more resources to protect our IP via patents and trade secrets, and
research and development. license that IP directly to end-users or via OEMs.
PatSnap helps us see which companies are interested
We primarily use PatSnap to monitor forward citations in use cases where we have strong value propositions,
of our portfolio as well as innovations in relevant and we can directly share interesting publications
markets. Our portfolio is a global one, with hundreds with members of our science team for review and
of patent assets issued in ten of the world’s major discussion. In the advanced chip industry, a single
economies. Interacting with individual patent offices or product can have many important contributors from
querying public databases is tedious and error-prone. wafer material manufacturers, fundamental device
PatSnap provides immediate access to the information designers, memory suppliers, architecture, and
we need and organizes our citations in a convenient, interconnect designers to packaging troubleshooters.
consistent, and clear interface. We are automatically PatSnap helps us navigate complementary,
notified via email whenever a company cites one of our supplementary, and competitive offerings to
patents, strengthening or inspiring discussions with strengthen our own technology roadmap and
potential licensees and prototype partners. accelerate our go-to-market strategy by identifying
high-value partners. We highly recommend PatSnap. -
Liam Kelly, Strategy & Emerging Technologies
Analyst, Ambature
 32

Charts & Analytics:

CII is more than just search and refinement, it is also exploring industry trends and competitor portfolio shifts through
real-time insights on patent activity, new research, and technology areas.

The ability to effectively analyze results is critical for any business. Quality analysis is a key factor when it comes
to making the correct decisions for your business, which will not only enable you to survive but also be successful
within your technology field. This analysis can also be critical for the results you get when performing a patent search
because having knowledge of both your own and your competitors’ IP capabilities should be a key consideration when
it comes to making many important business decisions.

Using CII and AI graphic analyses on a collection of patents is effortless and can include filing rates, top technology
trends, major players in the field, the most competitive jurisdictions, and more.

Continuing with the search above on chips optimized for AI, we see the analytics overview for the active patents.
In this example, the number of patent applications is trending upward. Further, the top IPC code in this analysis is
G06N3/063 (computer systems based on biological models, using electronic means), the top assignee is IBM, and
the most competitive market is the US. You can dive into this data or create different charts based on what you are
looking to analyze or compare.

Three points to consider when analyzing results:

1. Be clear about the extraction goal. The more specific you are from the get-go about what information you want
to extract, the easier the search is.

2. Locate the charts that enable you to extract the desired data.

3. Collaborate with others to explore the data in more detail and create a 360-degree analysis.

Regardless of industry, these insights can be used to inform key business decisions, including what information to
present to potential investors (and when), how to find potential partners or experts in a specific technology space,
uncovering emerging trends and competitor activity, and much more.
 33

With PatSnap’s automatic email

notifications, we can easily monitor
the IP space, our competitors,
customers, and emerging trends.
Plus, its Claim Tree, Smart Image,
and Workspace tools (to name a
few) simplify the patent analysis
process saving us ample time.
Also, when looking for potential
M&A targets, we leverage Insights
to understand a company’s IP
portfolio. Having access to these
data points is crucial to our
ongoing success, and now we
can’t imagine not using PatSnap!

Claude Carignan,
Senior IP Director & Technical Advisor, Teraxion
 34

Is Connected Innovation Intelligence the right choice

for YOU?
By now you’re well-versed in how CII is helping semiconductor companies and professionals overcome the hurdles to
innovation while protecting IP. Whether your company is a startup looking for licensing opportunities, or a large enterprise
organization working to launch the next-generation of chips, CII will help your organization at every stage of the
innovation journey. Furthermore, it will enhance your efforts to stay ahead of the competition, increase your ROI, future-
proof your operations, and help you bring novel innovation to the market.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution capable of delivering the innovation insights you need, in a fraction of the time,
CII is the right choice for your business.

If you have questions about this guide or CII in general, please get in touch with one of our Innovation experts:

Connect with an expert.

About PatSnap
Founded in 2007, PatSnap is the company behind the world’s leading Connected Innovation Intelligence platform.
PatSnap is used by more than 10,000 customers in over 50 countries around the world to access market, technology, and
competitive intelligence as well as patent insights needed to take products from ideation to commercialization. Customers
are innovators across multiple industry sectors, including Biotechnology, Medical devices, Pharmaceuticals, Chemical,
Electronics Manufacturing, Automotive, Consumer Goods, Aviation & Aerospace, Education, Legal Firms.

PatSnap’s team of 1000+ employees work from its global headquarters in Singapore, London, and Toronto. To learn more
about how PatSnap is improving the way companies innovate, visit www.patsnap.com.

Citations
Chris Richard, Dan Hamling, Duncan Stewart, Karthik Ramachandran, “Five fixes for the semiconductor chip
shortage,” Deloitte, December 6, 2021. https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/technology/
semiconductor-supply-chain-solutions.html

David Rotman, “We’re not prepared for the end of Moore’s Law,” MIT Technology Review, February 24, 2020. https://
www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/24/905789/were-not-prepared-for-the-end-of-moores-law/

Greg Mcfarlane, “How TSMC Makes Money,” Investopedia, August 28, 2020. https://www.investopedia.com/
articles/markets/012716/how-taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-makes-money-tsm.asp

“Global Semiconductor Sales, Units Shipped Reach All-Time Highs in 2021 as Industry Ramps Up Production Amid
Shortage,” Semiconductor Industry Association, February 14, 2022. https://www.semiconductors.org/global-
semiconductor-sales-units-shipped-reach-all-time-highs-in-2021-as-industry-ramps-up-production-amid-
shortage/

Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Rachel Minkin, “COVID-19 Pandemic Continues to Reshape Work in
America,” Pew Research Center, February 16, 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/02/16/
covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america/

“McKinsey on Semiconductors: Creating value, pursuing innovation, and optimizing operations,” McKinsey &
Company, October 2019. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/semiconductors/our%20
insights/mckinsey%20on%20semiconductors%20issue%207/mck_semiconductors_oct2019-full%20book-v12-
rgb.pdf

“Innovation at Risk: IP Infringement Challenges the Semiconductor Equipment Industry,” Semi, July 24, 2012.
https://www.semi.org/en/innovation-risk-ip-infringement-challenges-semiconductor-equipment-industry
 35

“SEMI: 200mm semiconductor fab capacity set to surge 21% to mitigate supply-demand imbalance,”
Green Car Congress, April 12, 2022. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2022/04/20220412-semi.
html#:~:text=Semiconductor%20manufacturers%20worldwide%20are%20on,SEMI’s%20200mm%20Fab%20
Outlook%20Report.

Thomas Alsop, “PC market shipment growth worldwide from 2015 to 2021,” Statista, February 23, 2022.https://
www.statista.com/statistics/273675/global-pc-market-shipment-growth/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20global%20
PC%20shipments%20grew%20by%204.8%20percent.

Additional Resources
Eager to learn more about how CII can aid in semiconductor research and development? Here are several resources you
can use on your innovation journey:

The Definitive Guide to Connected Innovation Intelligence: Our #1 Amazon bestselling eBook offers an
in-depth overview of CII for innovation across a variety of industries. It offers a walkthrough of the five stages of
innovation and explains how CII can help at every stage. Click here to download your free copy.

Innovation Academy: This free online learning platform features on-demand courses for innovation, R&D, and IP.
Innovation Academy is regularly updated and releases new courses every two to four weeks. You can register here.

The Semiconductor Market Report: A detailed 2022 market report featuring insights pulled from PatSnap’s CII platform.
Includes an IP review, geopolitical supply chain analysis, market context, stakeholder case studies, and much more. Read
the full report here.

Connected Innovation Intelligence Success Stories

More than 10,000 companies use CII to innovate successfully. Click here to learn more and access a wide range of case
studies and success stories.