SHENZHEN-BASED tech giants Tencent and Huawei have entered the top 10 of the Top 100 Global Innovators list by Clarivate, a leading global IP consultancy and analytics firm based in London. This recognition is awarded to organizations that consistently demonstrate exceptional innovation excellence and sit at the very top of the global innovation ecosystem.

A total of six companies from the Chinese mainland have made the list. They are Tencent (2nd), Huawei (9th), BOE Technology (12th), Ant Group (77th), AAC Technologies (90th), and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) (91st).

Huawei has been on the list since 2015, while Tencent has become the fastest-rising company on the list in recent years.

Notably, Tencent and Huawei are China’s top two research and development (R&D) spenders. In 2024, Tencent invested 70.7 billion yuan (US$9.7 billion) in R&D and had over 85,000 global patent applications, of which over 45,000 have been granted. Huawei spent 179.7 billion yuan on R&D, a sum equal to 20.8% of its annual revenue.

Eleven countries and regions were identified in this year’s list, one more than last year. Japan remained the biggest contributor to the top 100 with 33 organizations named, although this was a decrease of five compared to last year.

The U.S. had 18 organizations listed this year, while China had a total of 19, including 13 from Taiwan. The report highlighted that China showed the second-most significant improvement in global ranking, reflecting its rapid innovation growth.

Gordon Samson, president of the Intellectual Property Segment at Clarivate, said, “Being recognized as a Top 100 Global Innovator is a remarkable achievement, given the pace of change — since 2000, we’ve seen an 80-fold increase in the volume of inventions. Competition is more global than ever before, and developments in one region can have a significant global impact. Hyperconnectivity and technological convergence play a pivotal role in driving innovation. The Top 100 organizations focus on innovation in the deployment and diffusion of technology and knowledge.”

Since 2012, Clarivate has primarily used the quantity and quality of patents, the global distribution of patent filings, and the citation and authorization status of patents as the main criteria for its ranking list. In 2025, it added the “five major macro forces of innovation” framework, which includes sustainability, social well-being, efficient mobility, connectivity, and automation, to the criteria.

(Mu Zi)