.AI reaches the 1 million mark

In 2020, the number of registered .AI domain names stood at 107,000.  By 2022, this had risen to 148,000, followed in 2023 by 359,000, which represented a whopping 142% increase on the previous year's figures as AI fever took hold.  By 2025, the figure had risen to 800,000 as growth of the TLD tracked the explosion of interest in Artificial Intelligence and its entry into just about every area of everyday life and everyone's conversations.

In a recent social media post, the Anguillan government has confirmed that the .AI Registry had surpassed one million .AI domain name registrations at the end of 2025, “marking a historic milestone for Anguilla and underscoring the island's unique role in the global artificial intelligence economy.”  The post also noted how the growth represented “a powerful example of how digital assets can deliver real, tangible benefits to local communities” as the revenue from domain name sales had “directly supported major national development projects in Anguilla, including airport and road development, tax relief for locals and increased health services for the young and elderly.”

The unexpected growth of the .AI ccTLD in recent years has been a boon for the island nation, which has fewer than 20,000 residents.  Like the islands of Tuvalu (.TV) and the British Indian Ocean Territory (.IO) before it, which also transcended their geographical origins to ride the waves of trend-driven domain name growth, Anguilla is enjoying its moment in the sun.  It has directed revenues from its ccTLD to critical national infrastructure projects and towards reducing its national debt in order to improve the lives of its citizens.

The aftermarket for .AI domain names is also booming, with recent sales such as law.ai ($350,000), cloud.ai ($600,000) and you.ai ($700,000) continuing to break records.  Meanwhile, outside the .AI ccTLD, AI domain name sales went turbo with the recent sale of ai.com for $70 million, which is more than double the previous record ($30 million for voice.com).

While Anguilla may currently be rejoicing at its good fortune, in 2024 its former Premier, Ellis Webster, warned against relying solely on revenue from .AI domain names: “You can't predict how long this is going to last… And so I don't want to have our economy and our country and all our programs just based on this. And then all of a sudden there's a new fad comes up in the next year or two, and then we are left now having to make significant expenditure cuts, removing programs”.

In spite of this warning, there is no sign that .AI's popularity is likely to wane any time soon.

For more information on the registration or the recuperation of .AI domain names, please contact David Taylor or Jane Seager.

Authored by the Anchovy News team