Every industry has a top 1%.
GreyB Spotlights them.
We start with the full field of patent filers, score every portfolio, and recognize only the companies at the very top, leading the innovation narrative of their space.
Where We Have Standing
We work inside the portfolios we evaluate.
10,790+
companies screened (and counting)
1.4 M+
patents ran through manual scrutiny
300K+
readership across Fortune 500 companies
350+
Inhouse industry experts carrying decades of research experience collectively
Trusted by R&D, IP, and Legal Teams at
What Spotlight Measures
Spotlight measures the strength of an invention, the relevance of the technology, and what a portfolio signals about where a company is headed. We read patents as strategic documents that reveal what a company is building, defending, and where it intends to go next.
Discovering top 1% innovators on two scales:
Spotlight recognizes the strongest innovation portfolios in an industry, measured across the entire field. This year we feature Portfolio Strength. More categories follow.
Citadel
For Portfolio Strength
Claim durability, family completeness, jurisdictional coverage versus market footprint, litigation-grade quality indicators, portfolio coherence.
Ascent
For Emerging Innovators
Recognizes startups and small-cap companies whose innovations show quality, originality, and technical strength beyond their scale.
Vanguard
For Competitive Positioning
Recognizes companies whose IP strategy demonstrably outpaces direct competitors. Out front in the right white spaces.
01
North Star
Recognizes portfolios with technically powerful, future-relevant core IP. The inventions that other inventions cite back to.
What We Look At
A five-stage process. Three layers of independent review.
STAGE 01
Signal Identification
Benchmarking Analysis
Each candidate scored across innovation strength, portfolio durability, competitive positioning, and trajectory. Benchmarks are industry-specific and recalibrated annually.
Deep Research Validation
Multi-Analyst Review
Editorial Review
Final selection reviewed by the Spotlight Editorial Board and Advisory Council. Recognitions issued only when evidence is clear. No quotas, no fills.
For the full methodology paper, including scoring weights, data sources, and validation protocols.
GreyB Spotlight 2026 Top 1%
9500+ companies analyzed. Top 1% featured.
Spotlight Recognition Board
Recognition is a judgment.
Deepak Syal
Co-founder of GreyB with 20+ years in patent intelligence and innovation strategy. He sets Spotlight’s direction, deciding which technologies, and IP shifts earn a place and how far the analysis goes. Has led engagements for Fortune 500 R&D teams across telecom, semiconductors, and life sciences. Winner of the SBR Management Excellence award and named among IAM’s top 300 strategists.
John Ruggles
Program Lead, GreyB
Owns program calibration and the multi-analyst review every Spotlight edition clears before it goes out, the final check on whether a claim holds. He specializes in competitive IP positioning and white space analysis in emerging technologies, the lens Spotlight uses to separate signal from noise. Sets the editorial bar for the whole program.
Shikhar Sahni
Sr. Vice President, GreyB
Arindam Som
Assistant Vice President, GreyB
Spotlight Advisory Council
External review by independent IP and R&D voices.
A council of IP, R&D, and innovation practitioners providing external review of the methodology. Members serve in their individual capacity and receive no compensation tied to endorsements.
Director at one of the largest telecom company in US
25+ years of leading IP operations and strategy of one of the largest Telecom brand in US. Inventor on 40+ patents, and part of multiple IP education and enablement initiative globally.
Sam Zellner
CEO & Founder, InspireIP
Prolific inventor with 200+ granted patents. Former Executive Director of Patent Development and Executive Director of Innovation at a top telecommunications company. Named to the IAM Strategy 300, the world’s leading IP strategists.
Thomas Franklin
Partner, Mughal Gaudry & Franklin PC
25+ years as a patent attorney across software, semiconductors, blockchain, and emerging technologies. Founder of Triangle IP. Former senior partner at one of the largest patent firms.
The Principles
What makes GreyB Spotlight different
Built around evidence, not narrative. The award is the by-product of work we’d do anyway.
PRINCIPLE 01
Analyst-selected
There is no application form. There is no nomination process. Candidates surface from GreyB’s continuous analytical practice, not from anyone seeking recognition.
PRINCIPLE 02
Independently scored
Scoring is done by analysts isolated from client-facing engagements. A minimum of three independent assessments precedes any recognition decision.
PRINCIPLE 03
Evidence-bound
Recognition is tied to measurable, reproducible signals in patent data. Where evidence is ambiguous, no recognition is issued. There are no participation tiers.
PRINCIPLE 04
Externally reviewed
Methodologies are reviewed by the Spotlight Advisory Council. IP, R&D, and academic voices independent of GreyB’s commercial relationships.
Benefits & Licensing
Four tiers of recognition
Every recipient receives Insight Access. Higher tiers unlock licensing, analyst-authored reports, and amplification, choose the level that matches your visibility goals.
Spotlight Recognition
- Listing on the GreyB Spotlight Awards portal
- Analyst summary explaining why the recognition was awarded
Inclusion in Spotlight is not for sale at any tier or under any arrangement. Recipients who want to license the award mark, commission an analyst-authored report, or run amplification campaigns can do so through the packages below. These affect visibility, not selection.
For recipients who want to publicize their recognition.
Selecting a package does not influence the award itself, which is decided before any commercial conversation begins. Packages are available only to confirmed recipients.
Tier 02
Spotlight Advantage
- Official award designation and certificate
- Logo and branding usage rights
- Press release support (via GreyB)
- Publication and website inclusion
Tier 03
Spotlight Leadership
- Everything in Advantage
- Analyst-authored award report and executive summary
Spotlight Signature
- Everything in Leadership
- Thought leadership white paper (3–5 pages)
- Executive presentation by GreyB
- Exclusive webinar with GreyB experts
The work behind Spotlight
Selected GreyB analyses showing the similar methodology applied privately for research, in academic citation, and in trade press. The Spotlight formalizes that work as a public annual recognition.
Featured By Major Publications For Industry Analyses.
How recognition works
“There is no application process.”
Awards are issued only after our research surfaces qualifying signals. If you’d like to learn more about the program, or license recognition – our team is available.