Ambarella Patents – Insights & Stats (Updated 2026)

Ambarella has a total of 498 patents globally, out of which 453 have been granted. Of these 498 patents, 90% patents are active. The United States of America is where Ambarella has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by China and Italy. Parallelly, United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D centre and also is the origin country of Ambarella.

Ambarella was founded in 2004. Ambarella develops energy-efficient semiconductors designed for high-definition video compression and advanced image processing. Its chips enable high-quality video and imaging while maintaining low power consumption.

Do read about some of the most popular patents of Ambarella which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Ambarella patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Ambarella patent portfolio.

How many patents does Ambarella have?

Ambarella has a total of 498 patents globally. These patents belong to 261 unique patent families. Out of 498 patents, 451 patents are active.

How Many Patents did Ambarella File Every Year?

Ambarella Patent Filing Trend

Are you wondering why there is a drop in patent filing for the last two years? It is because a patent application can take up to 18 months to get published. Certainly, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.

Year of Patents Filing or GrantAmbarella Applications FiledAmbarella Patents Granted
202618
2025132
20241836
20231745
20224330
20214026
20206062
20195647
20185229
20173316

Why Did Ambarella’s Patent Filings Accelerate Between 2017 and 2020?

Ambarella’s filing activity entered a distinctly different phase from 2017 onward. Applications increased from 24 in 2016 to 33 in 2017, 52 in 2018, 56 in 2019 and 60 in 2020, making 2018–2020 the most filing-intensive period in the portfolio.

The timing is significant because Ambarella itself was undergoing a technology transition.

Historically, the company built its position around low-power video compression and image-processing semiconductors. But its acquisition of VisLab in 2015 added computer-vision and autonomous-driving expertise to that semiconductor foundation. Ambarella subsequently introduced its CVflow computer-vision architecture, followed by the CV1 and CV2 AI vision processors in 2018. These combined image processing with deep-neural-network and computer-vision capabilities for applications including automotive, security cameras, drones and robotics.

The patent data reflects this transition. Computer-vision, image-processing, AI and automotive-related technologies become increasingly prominent around the same period, suggesting that the filing peak was connected not simply with higher patenting activity, but with Ambarella expanding the technological scope of its semiconductor platform.

For IP and R&D teams, the 2017–2020 period should be treated as a foundational technology-building phase. Rather than reviewing those patents simply by filing year, the portfolio should be segmented into video processing, computer vision, neural-network processing and automotive perception to determine which technologies established the core IP architecture behind Ambarella’s later products.

For business and strategy teams, this pattern shows why patent trends can act as an early indicator of strategic transition. Ambarella’s patent expansion accompanied its move from primarily processing video to enabling machines to interpret what cameras see.

The 2017-2020 filing surge therefore appears to capture Ambarella’s transition from a video-processing semiconductor company toward an AI perception company.

How many Ambarella patents are Alive/Dead?

Worldwide Patents

Ambarella Patent Portfolio

How Many Patents did Ambarella File in Different Countries?

Ambarella Worldwide Patent Filing

Countries in which Ambarella Filed Patents

CountryPatents
United States of America415
China38
Italy14
Japan9
Europe (EPO)4
Taiwan4
Austria2
Germany2
Korea (South)2

Ambarella’s patent activity is heavily concentrated in the UnitedStates, but the smaller geographies also tell an important story. Italy, for example, is linked to the VisLab acquisition and Ambarella’s expansion into computer vision and autonomous-driving technologies, while the Oculii acquisition added radarperception capabilities to the broader portfolio.

For IP and R&D teams, the useful action is to map patents by both geography and technology. This can help show which capabilities were developed internally and which entered the portfolio through acquisitions, especially across computer vision, AI, radar and sensor fusion.

For business and strategy teams, the geographic spread suggests Ambarella has built its technology position through a mix of core US development and targeted capability additions elsewhere. Tracking where these regional technology strengths begin to overlap can provide a clearer signal of Ambarella’s future platform direction than country counts alone.

Where are Research Centers of Ambarella Patents Located?

R&D Centres of Ambarella

10 Best Ambarella Patents

US7880776B2 is the most popular patent in the Ambarella portfolio. It has received 199 citations so far from companies like Corephotonics, Skype.

Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Ambarella:

Publication NumberCitation Count
US7880776B2199
US10850693B1101
US10115029B189
US9918102B170
US11001231B167
US8768142B164
US10684626B162
US10048366B160
US10953850B159
US10409887B158

What Percentage of Ambarella US Patent Applications were Granted?

Ambarella (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 353 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 346 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 99.14%.

Below are the key stats of Ambarella patent prosecution at the USPTO.

Which Law Firms are managing US Patents for Ambarella?

Law FirmTotal ApplicationsSuccess Rate
Maiorana Patent Law35399.70%

What Technologies Are Driving Ambarella’s Patent Portfolio?

Ambarella’s patent portfolio remains strongly rooted in image and video technologies, but the technology mix shows how far the company has expanded beyond traditional video processing. Video and image communication/processing (H04N)appears across about240 publication records, followedbycomputer vision (G06V) with 147, image processing (G06T) with 146, andcomputing/data processing (G06F) with 118. AI and machine-learning technologies also appear across roughly 58 records, showing that the portfolio increasingly covers not only image capture and processing, but also how machines interpret that visual information.

The portfolio has also expanded into automotive perception. Around 61 publication records relate to radar and localisation technologies, while vehicle-related systems and vehicle-control technologies appear across approximately 60 and 22 records, respectively. Together, these areas suggest that Ambarella is combining its established imaging capabilities with computer vision, AI, radar, and vehicle-control technologies to build a broader machine-perception stack. Because a single patent can carry multiple CPC classifications, these counts overlap and should not be added together.

The most valuable areas to watch are where these technology clusters intersect-for example, computer vision combined with neural-network processing and automotive control, or radar combined with camera calibration and sensor fusion. For IP teams, these overlaps can identify priority areas for competitive landscaping and FTO analysis, while for business teams, they indicate that Ambarella is increasingly moving beyond image-processing silicon toward broader AI-powered perception platforms.

Radar Is Becoming a Strategic Second Layer in Ambarella’s Portfolio

Ambarella’s radar activity now forms a meaningful part of the portfolio, with around 61 publication records under G01S covering radar tracking, interference mitigation, 4D millimetre-wave radar, radar-camera calibration, localisation and related technologies. The significance becomes clearer after Ambarella’s acquisition of Oculii, which added radar-perception IP to the company’s established computer-vision and edge-AI capabilities.

The more important question is where these radar patents overlap with Ambarella’s existing strengths in computer vision and AI processing. Mapping Oculii-originated patents against Ambarella’s native vision portfolio can reveal where the company is building broader multi-sensor perception systems. That shift matters strategically because Ambarella is no longer positioned only around camera-based perception; it is increasingly combining radar, vision and AI in ways that could strengthen its role in ADAS and autonomous-driving platforms.

What are Ambarella key innovation segments?

What Technologies are Covered by Ambarella?

The chart below distributes patents filed by Ambarella in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Ambarella thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.

R&D Focus: How has Ambarella search focus changed over the years?

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!

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