.ai
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Telecommunications, Registry |
| Ownership: | Offshore Information Services |
| Country: | Anguilla |
| Website: | Zenaida.cate.ai |
Anguilla is a British overseas territory. It is situated in the Caribbean region. .ai is the country code and top-level domain of Anguilla. The Government of Anguilla controls this domain.[1] The domain is popular among the companies working in Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector.[2]
Second and third level registrations[edit | edit source]
Registrations within org.ai, com.ai, net.ai, and off.ai domains globally are not restricted. However, there are certain restrictions regarding top-level domains. The .ai domain has been an Open Use ccTLD since September 2009.
The .ai domain has gained significant traction in the tech industry, particularly among companies specializing in artificial intelligence. This trend highlights the domain's impact on branding and industry recognition. [3]
Registration[edit | edit source]
The minimum term allowed for registration within the .ai domain is 2 years, with the same 2-year renewal limit. WHOIS.AI is the central authority responsible for managing the extension. The registration process started on 16 February 1995. The minimum length required at the time of registration was 2, with a maximum of 63 characters.[4] A resident of any country and nationality can register in this domain.
The domain can be suspended and revoked if any illegal activity is found. In case of copyright or trademark issues, OIS uses UDRP to resolve name disputes through WIPO. The laws of the government of Anguilla must be followed.[5]
The Anguillan government . The .ai domain is administered using Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP).[6]
A-Z, a-z, 0-9 and hyphen are included in the character set of the .ai domain. International character sets are not supported.
There were 112,022 active .ai domains in November 2021.[7]
Registration Costs and Name Speculation[edit | edit source]
$100 is charged per year for the domain. The ".ai" registry follows Extensible Provisioning Protocol. As a result, the .ai domain is sold by many registrars. That is why .ai ccTLD is also popular among Artificial Intelligence companies. These trends are most popular among newly established AI companies and startups. Many companies do not use the .ai domain to develop their websites. For example, DeepMind used the .com domain to develop its website, and Facebook has changed its domain to ai.facebook.com.[8]
Auctions of expired domains are held periodically at auctions.whois.ai.[9] As of November 2021, expert.ai was the most expensive AI domain ever sold in history. Sedo brokered and mediated the selling of this domain in June 2020. It was sold at the price of €95,000 or $2.9 million.[10]
Impact on Anguilla's Economy[edit | edit source]
A $120 fee is charged when someone registers within this domain. The government of Anguilla collects the registration fee, and it directly goes into its treasury. According to a report published by New York Times, a total of $2.9 million in revenue has been generated through registrations.[11]Anguilla, with its domain name, cashes in on a quirky trend, Chicago Tribune</ref>
Auction proceeds are now another source of revenue. Expired domains are listed at a reserve price of $115. Closing prices range from hundreds of dollars to (rarely) twenty thousand dollars or higher[12]
Fun Facts[edit | edit source]
The current home of the registry, zenaida.cate.ai, is named for Anguilla's state bird, the Zenaida Dove.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ What’s in a Name? Trends in Creating Robot and AI Company Names
- ↑ AI Startup Boom Raises Questions of Exaggerated Tech Savvy, The Wall Street Journal
- ↑ The Branding Importance of AI Domains for Tech Startups Register.Domains
- ↑ Why one tiny island is still a domain name giant, Zdnet.com
- ↑ ai-domain
- ↑ EPP FAQ and Terms & Conditions, Whois.ai
- ↑ .AI Whois – Domain Search in Anguilla
- ↑ Is .AI Domain Name Extension Any Valuable For AI Startups Or Just A Marketing Ploy?, Analytics India Magazine
- ↑ Auctions.whois.ai
- ↑ Interest in .AI domains skyrockets, Nominus.com
- ↑ Tropical Breezes, Pristine Beaches and a Domain Name to Die For, The New York Times
- ↑ see, e.g. the auction results for think.ai, which closed at nearly $22,000