The Value of Corporate Intangible Assets Worldwide Approaches USD 100 Trillion in 2025; The US Leads High-Income Economies; Morocco, China, and India Top Middle-Income Economies

Intangible assets such as intellectual property (IP), software, data, brands and organizational capabilities exert a growing influence on the global economy despite remaining largely invisible to conventional economic measurement frameworks.

With an estimated value of corporate intangible assets approaching USD 100 trillion (see figure 1) in 2025, these assets now exceed the combined GDP of the world’s largest economies.

In the Global Innovation Index (GII), and in this March 2026 GII Innovation Insight post, we collaborate with Brand Finance to put a value on corporate intangible assets. The findings are striking:

• Intangible assets crossed USD 97 trillion in 2025, close to USD 100 trillion, growing 23% from 2024 (see figure 1).
• After a temporary downturn in 2022, global intangible value has rebounded with momentum, growing 28% in 2024 and 23% in 2025.
• This sustained growth marks a 16-fold increase since 1996, driven also by the increasing market valuations of firms.
• Over the past decade, global value of corporate intangible assets has, on average, been equivalent to two-thirds (67%) of global GDP.

Figure 1: Global corporate intangible value (USD trillion), 1996-2025

Source: Authors’ calculations based on WIPO’s Global Innovation Index and Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT) 2025

Intangible assets as a foundation for the global economy

Perhaps the most striking finding emerges when comparing intangible asset value to global GDP. Over the past decade, the global value of corporate intangible assets has, on average, been equivalent to approximately two-thirds (67%) of global GDP. This underscores the growing importance of non-physical assets such as brands, patents, data, and organizational know-how in shaping firm value.

Notably, even during the 2022 market correction, global intangible value remained equivalent to more than half of global GDP. This sustained magnitude aligns with evidence from the WIPO-LBS World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025, which shows that investment in intangible assets tends to be more resilient than tangible investment during periods of crisis and recovers more quickly following economic shocks. Together, these findings reinforce the structurally embedded role of intangible capital in the global economy.

Which economies and firms lead in intangible asset intensity?

This blog identifies the top 5000 global firms by intangible asset ownership and presents an “intangible asset intensity” indicator that measures the proportion of intangible assets in total enterprise value for the top 15 firms per economy.

The United States (US) continues to lead as the most intangible asset-intensive economy, with its top 15 firms’ intangible assets making up 91.8% of the total enterprise value (see table 1). Its most intangible asset-rich firm, NVIDIA Corporation, exemplifies this lead, with its market value driven almost entirely by chip architecture, software ecosystems, and AI capabilities rather than physical assets. Indeed, among the top 10 companies with the highest intangible value, eight are US-based technology giants (including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and others), representing an outsized share of global intangible assets.

European economies also rank high. Ireland (87.1%), the United Kingdom (84%), France (80.6%), Netherlands (79%), Denmark (78.3%), Switzerland (76.7%), and Sweden (75.3%) all exceed 75% intangible intensity. These economies host globally competitive firms across diverse sectors such as professional services (Accenture), pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca, Roche, Novo Nordisk), luxury brands (LVMH) and semiconductor equipment (ASML).

Table 1: Economies with highest intangible asset intensity, and their most intangible-asset-rich firms (top 3), 2025

Source: Authors’ calculations based on WIPO’s Global Innovation Index and Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT) 2025

The presence of several middle-income economies, in particular Morocco, China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, in the top 20 highlights the increasingly broad geographic spread of intangible asset intensity. These economies are not only entering the rankings, but in some cases moving up rapidly.

• Morocco ranks highest among them, placing 8th globally with an intangible intensity of 75.8%, up from 26th in 2024. Some of its most intangible asset-intensive firms now include those in the capital-intensive sectors such as Société d’Exploitation des Ports (96.8%) and Travaux Généraux de Construction de Casablanca (95.5%), reflecting the growing importance of operational systems, management practices, and network coordination relative to physical assets alone.
• China ranks 12th with 73.8%, up from 31st in 2024. Its performance is driven by digital platform firms such as Tencent (82.4%), as well as consumer electronics companies like Xiaomi (78.6%) and BYD (74.8%), where software, R&D, and integrated technologies account for a growing share of firm value.
• India follows in 13th place with an intangible asset intensity of 73.6%. Firms such as Hindustan Unilever (97.5%) show very high intangible intensity, supported by brand value and distribution networks. Other intangible-intensive firms include Titan Company (91.3%) and Bharti Airtel (88.9%).
• Indonesia ranked 15th (72.4%) with its most intangible-intensive firms operating in sectors such as data infrastructure, chemicals, and energy such as PT DCI Indonesia (99.5%), PT Chandra Asri Pacific (90.9%) and PT Bayan Resources (93.1%).
• Mexico ranks 19th with 69.6%, up from 23rd in 2024, led by financial services firm Siefore XXI Banorte Basica Inicial (99.9%). Other intangible-intensive companies span the construction and infrastructure sector such as Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (94.5%) and Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina (88.2%).

Table 2: Top firms by intangible asset intensity, selected regions, 2025

Source: Authors’ calculations based on WIPO’s Global Innovation Index and Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT) 2025

Table 2 shows the top three firms by intangible asset intensity in 2025 across regions. In Central and Southern Asia, the top firms are Hindustan Unilever in India (97.5%), Aker BP in Kazakhstan (94.4%), and Titan Company in India (91.3%). In Latin America and the Caribbean, Minera IRL in Peru leads with a 114.2% intangible intensity, followed by Mailpac Group in Jamaica (109%) and SABESP in Brazil (103.1%). Firms in Northern Africa and Western Asia similarly display high intensity: Kefi Gold and Copper in Cyprus (109%), Salik Company PJSC in the UAE (105.7%), and Parkin Company PJSC, also in the UAE (101.3%). In South-eastern Asia, Eastern Asia, and Oceania, the top performers are Synergy Grid & Development Philippines (111.7%), PT Jasa Marga in Indonesia (107.1%), and Manila Water Company in the Philippines (100.9%). Finally, in Sub-Saharan Africa, Filtisac in Côte d'Ivoire (99.8%), BUA Foods in Nigeria (92.8%), and Clicks Group in South Africa (91.8%).

Internet & Software sector leads, but traditionally capital-intensive sectors such as Oil & Gas are also turning more intangible-intensive

As figure 2 shows, two sectors alone account for more than 20% of all global corporate intangible value: Internet & Software (USD 10.1 trillion, 10.3%) and Semiconductors (USD 9.6 trillion, 9.9%).

Engineering & Construction sector ranks third at USD 8.3 trillion, reflecting how proprietary methodologies, design software, and project management systems have become competitive differentiators. Media (USD 7.2 trillion) and Pharma (USD 6.5 trillion) rank fourth and fifth.

Traditionally capital-intensive sectors now hold significant intangible value: Oil & Gas (USD 3.7 trillion), Healthcare (USD 3.3 trillion), Telecoms (USD 2.8 trillion), and Utilities (USD 2.4 trillion). These sectors increasingly compete on exploration technologies, operational expertise, and grid management software as much as physical infrastructure.

Figure 2: Total intangible value by sector, 2025 (USD trillion)

Source: Authors’ calculations based on WIPO’s Global Innovation Index and Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT) 2025

About the data

The GII features Indicator 7.1.1: Intangible asset intensity, top 15. This indicator measures the proportion of intangible assets (such as IP, brands, software, data, organizational capital) in the total enterprise value of a country's top 15 firms by intangible asset holdings. The data cover a global list of firms for which intangible asset value and total firm value are observed. The source of the data is the Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT), which uses a residual valuation method to capture the 79-83% of intangible asset value that accounting standards prohibit from appearing on corporate balance sheets. The calculation is specifically: Enterprise Value - Tangible Net Assets - Disclosed Intangibles = Implied Intangible Assets. This represents what markets are actually pricing when they value companies, namely intangible assets such as brands, patents, data, customer relationships, and organizational capabilities. This methodology relies on market pricing through enterprise value, which is determined by stock markets for publicly traded firms across roughly 72,500 companies globally.

This indicator supports a broader initiative at WIPO to better understand and value intangible assets, including WIPO’s work on Intellectual Property Finance, as well as WIPO’s collaboration with Luiss Business School to produce comprehensive and timely estimates of investment in intangible assets through the WIPO-Luiss World Intangible Investment Highlights (WIIH), with the next edition to be released in July 2026.