Retail banks are applying for AI patents across a wide range of banking functions, from zero trust network access to used car financing to user data privacy.
Patents are a key indicator of a bank’s AI strategy and R&D direction.
For example, Capital One has applied for 40+ AI patents related to vehicles, reflecting its emphasis on its auto underwriting tool. Meanwhile, Bank of America, whose AI assistant has now crossed 1B user interactions, is continuing to apply for patents related to intelligent agents and user intent recognition.
CB Insights recently analyzed the 50 largest American and European retail banks (by market cap) to identify the 3 most innovative banks in AI. As part of the analysis, we used the CB Insights Patent Analytics Engine to mine patents filed by the 50 banks, which shed light on each bank’s R&D focus, projects under development, and upcoming product releases.
Eight of the 50 retail banks analyzed have applied for an AI patent in the US (Citizens Bank, Bank of Montreal, RBC, Capital One, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citi, and Wells Fargo).
The chart below highlights banks that have applied for at least 10 AI patents to date (based on keyword searches for common AI-related terms in title and abstract).
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