Heavyweight:Unicorn domain name analysis,who will lead the industry?

According to the latest "2020 China Unicorn Top 100" report, among privately held and independently operated legal entities with valuations exceeding $1 billion, the top ten companies on the list include Ant Group, ByteDance, Xiaoju Technology, Lufax, Cainiao Network, Kuaishou Technology, DJI Innovation, WeBank, Bitmain, and Realsee Information. Today, I'll provide you with an overview of the domain name preferences of these unicorn companies!

1. **Ant Group**

Ant Group, initially founded in 2004 as Alipay, has its official website domain as the word combination domain antfin.com. They have also secured antfin.cn/.com.cn, as well as the double-spelled domain(mayi.cn). During their earlier days as" they registered the domain name antgroup.com, which currently redirects to their official website. On June 22, Ant Group officially changed its name to Ant Technology Group; it remains to be seen if this domain name will also become the group's official website domain. Ant Group's flagship product, Alipay, holds nearly two thousand domain names, and their business brands use domain names that are highly relevant, such as alipay.com, zhifu.com for Alipay, huabei.com/.com.cn for Huabei, mybank.cn for Webank, and xin.xin for Sesame Credit.

2. **ByteDance**

ByteDance, established in March 2012, is one of the earliest tech companies to apply artificial intelligence to mobile internet scenarios. Their official website domain is the combination domain bytedance.com. The domains for ByteDance's brands are all top-notch: toutiao.com for Today's Headlines, douyin.com for Douyin, huoshan.com for Douyin Huoshan, wukong.com for Wukong Q&A, baike.com for Interactive Encyclopedia, tuchong.com for Tuchong, mubu.com for Mubu, feishu.cn for Feishu, and feiliao.com for Feiliao. These are all premium double-spelled domain names that align perfectly with their brands and greatly enhance brand promotion.

3. **Xiaoju Technology**

Beijing Xiaoju Technology Co., Ltd. is a company specializing in mobile internet transportation, with its primary products being Didi Taxi, Didi Premier, and Didi Express. Founded in 2012, Didi Chuxing initially had the official website domain xiaojukeji.com, which was both lengthy and not aligned with the brand. In 2017, they spent millions to acquire didi.cn, as well as protecting didichuxing.com/cn and other related domain names. However, visiting didichuxing.com now prompts a website upgrade message, and Didi's official website is currently didiglobal.com. They own 45 brand-related domain names, but Didi Chuxing's brand domain names have the disadvantage of being long and less concise. It would be advantageous for them to acquire a shorter domain name like dd.com to better match their status as a unicorn in the industry.

4. **Lufax**

Lufax, a member of Ping An Group, was established in September 2011. It is a financial asset trading and information service platform cleared and regulated by the State Council transaction venue. Their official website is the two-letter domain lu.com, which is short and easy to remember. This domain was purchased for over tens of millions of RMB. Lufax has also acquired and protected lu.com.cn, lujinsuo.com/.cn/.com.cn, and lup2p.com/.cn/.com.cn, among other brand-related domain names.

5. **Cainiao Network**

In May 2013, Alibaba, SF Express, and three other logistics companies jointly established Cainiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. Cainiao's official website domain is the double-spelled(cainiao.com), and they have also secured cainiao.com.cn. As a collaborative entity in the express delivery industry, it would be beneficial for Cainiao Network to use the domain(kd.com) for express delivery if possible. This domain name is short and clear, making it highly suitable and impactful.

6. **Kuaishou Technology**

Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in March 2015. Their flagship product, Kuaishou Short Video, was born in March 2011 and has become a major player in China's short video industry. Initially, Kuaishou was used for making and sharing GIF images, under the name "GIF Kuaishou," with the domain gifshow.com. In 2014, after officially changing its name to "Kuaishou," they switched to the double-spelled domain kuaishou.com. Kuaishou also secured related domains like kuaishou.cn/.cc. In June 2018, Kuaishou acquired the bullet screen site Acfun, and its official website domain Acfun.cn is also owned by Kuaishou. However, Kuaishou's portfolio of brand domain names is not yet comprehensive. It would be beneficial for them to protect domain names related to(kuai.com), as having multiple brand domain names can enhance user access precision and prevent malicious competition in the same industry.

7. **DJI Innovation**

DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 by graduates from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, including Wang Tao. It is a leading global developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicle control systems and solutions. Their official website domain is dji.com, and they have secured dji.cn/.com.cn, djisky.cn, and other brand-related domain names. On the other hand, their industry competitor, "ZeroTech," showed a greater emphasis on domain names. In 2018, they spent 12 million RMB to acquire the premium two-letter domain xa.com as their official website domain.

8. **WeBank**

WeBank, initiated by Tencent Holdings Limited along with well-known private enterprises such as Baiye Yuan and Liye Group, was founded in December 2014. It is the first private and internet bank in China. Their official website domain is webank.com, registered in 1999, with a history of 21 years. They also own webank.cn/.com.cn and other brand-related domain names.

9. **Bitmain**

Bitmain Technologies Ltd. was founded in 2013 and has strong research and development capabilities in the field of high-performance computing. Their official website domain is bitmain.com. They also own the bitcoin domain BTC.com, which was sold for a high price of 1.1 million USD (approximately 6.8 million RMB), as well as the domain antpool.com for Antpool, and sophon.cn for Sophon Technology. This demonstrates the importance of industry-specific domain names for blockchain companies.

10. **Realsee Information**

Realsee Information, founded in 2017, is a member company of Lianjia Group. Its official website domain is realsee.com, which redirects to their product(Rushi). "Lianjia" spent a million RMB to acquire the official website domain lianjia.com in

2014, and "Beike Zhaofang" even spent tens of millions to acquire the premium two-letter domain ke.com. This illustrates their emphasis on domain names.

From the domain names used by the above unicorn companies, we can see that most companies prefer Pinyin and English domain names. Pinyin domain names have strong brand relevance in the Chinese market, are easily understood by users, and are search engine-friendly. English domain names are sometimes more concise, effectively conveying brand meanings, and are more widely recognized and accepted globally, making them suitable for companies aiming to enter international markets.

In the age of mobile internet, branding is an essential intangible asset for a company, and domain names are the first step in establishing that brand. Companies like ByteDance and Bitmain have invested more effort into domain names than the average company, and their success is closely related to their emphasis on domain name strategy. This demonstrates that a company's growth and its domain name strategy are intricately connected. A high-quality domain name that suits a brand is an indispensable factor for a company's growth and success at any time.