The top two innovation hubs in the world are in Asia, according to a recent report from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Leading the list of the top 100 innovation clusters is the greater Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou area, with Huawei being the commercial anchor there. In the second slot is Tokyo-Yokohama, which is home to Mitsubishi Electric, the area’s top Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applicant. Silicon Valley, the innovation hub that began its rise during the Space Race in the 1960s, rounded out the top three, with Google as its top PCT applicant. The top three clusters together accounted for over one in every five PCT applications filed globally.
Japan, China and the U.S. are home to the top three clusters while China, the U.S. and Germany lead by number of clusters in the top 100. Data from WIPO
Each year, the Global Innovation Index ranks the top 100 global innovation clusters, identifying areas that have high densities of inventors, scientific authors and venture capital (VC) activity.
In the top 10, Asian clusters led in patents and publications this year, with the U.S. and Europe leading in venture capital activity, which the report ties to differing pathways for channeling R&D investment into innovation output. China’s patent counts have been criticized for prioritizing volume, but as of Jan. 1, 2026, China’s national IP administration adopted stricter examination standards for AI-related patents.
China and the U.S. lead by count of innovation clusters for the fourth year in a row. Germany holds the third spot, with seven clusters compared to China’s 25 and the U.S.’s 20.
Seoul moved to the fourth spot, ahead of Beijing, outpacing it on PCT filings and VC deals. Beijing retained its lead in scientific publications.
Paris entered the top 10 this year, joining London as the only two European clusters in the top 10 and returning to the top 10 for the first time since 2022. The French capital took the spot Los Angeles vacated when it slipped two places to 12th. The rise tracks with a broader surge in French AI investment, including funding rounds for Mistral AI and Poolside, which Reuters reported pushed Paris past London as Europe’s top tech hub last year.
Philadelphia entered the top 20 this year as Seattle dropped to 25th place. Both Salt Lake City and Ann Arbor fell out of the top 100.
Most clusters moved only a few spots, if at all. One notable exception is Ningde, China, which climbed 24 places to 75th, the biggest jump on the list this year, driven by battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). The cluster’s PCT filings rose almost 39%, and venture capital activity rose 50%.
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