1,100 companies, 300 first launches – WAIC 2026 reveals the next explosive growth point for AI domain names.

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026 (WAIC 2026) opened in Shanghai on July 17th.

This is no ordinary technology exhibition. With 100,000 square meters of exhibition space, over 1,100 companies, more than 3,000 exhibits, and over 300 global debuts—these figures break all records in WAIC's nine-year history. More importantly, the agenda sends a clear signal: the AI ​​Agent Industry Ecosystem Summit was established as an independent thematic summit for the first time, the Token Economy officially became a topic of discussion, and 29 countries signed the WAICO (World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization) agreement on the opening day.

As the global AI industry's attention focuses on Shanghai, what should the domain name industry see?

AI Agent: From Technological Concept to Industrial Infrastructure

If the protagonist of WAIC 2025 was the "large model," then the protagonist of 2026 will undoubtedly be the "AI Agent."

This year's conference, for the first time, established an independent summit for AI Agents, no longer a sub-topic of a forum. Jieyue Xingchen released the world's first Agent operating system, Nubia released the world's first AI intelligent agent phone, and Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen released the first AI Agent earphones—Agents are moving from the cloud to the terminal, from demos to mass production.

Behind this is a nascent industry consensus: every AI Agent needs a digital identity, and the carrier of this digital identity is the domain name.

In the first half of 2026, A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocols will be widely discussed, and the narrative that "every Agent needs a domain name" will spread rapidly within the industry. AI Agents will no longer just answer questions, but will autonomously register domain names, invoke tools, and complete cross-system tasks. A number of domain registration services targeting AI agents have emerged, including AgentDomain, Sherlock Domains, and AIvikings. AIvikings has even proposed the concept of "designing domains for machines, not humans"—machines don't care if domains are easy to remember; they need descriptive, low-cost, and verifiable identifiers.

This means a completely new demand layer is emerging in the domain market: it's not humans buying domains to build websites, but agents buying domains to run them.

.AI Domain Transactions Explode: Bot.ai Leads at $1.2 Million

Data speaks volumes.

According to DN.com statistics, in the first half of 2026, there were 23 six-figure transactions for .AI domains, totaling over $5.4 million. Bot.ai sold for $1.2 million, becoming the only .AI domain to break the million-dollar mark; Omni.ai followed closely at $750,000; Lotus.ai and Genesis.ai both sold for $400,000.

A horizontal comparison of several key data points:

In 2025, the highest transaction price for a .AI domain name was approximately $800,000-$900,000. In the first half of 2026, Bot.ai alone surpassed this ceiling. April saw a concentrated nine six-figure transactions, accounting for more than a third of the first half of the year—this is not accidental, but rather a combined effect of the AI ​​Agent funding boom (Venice AI, LinqAlpha, Etched, etc., completed funding in Q1-Q2) and the diffusion of the A2A protocol narrative.

From a transaction structure perspective, .AI domain names exhibit two clear pricing logics: short domain/generic keyword premiums (Bot.ai, Neo.ai, Free.ai, 3-5 letters, mirroring the "category keyword" logic of the .com era) and AI concept keyword premiums (Genesis.ai, Omni.ai, Deep.ai, Synthetic.ai, strongly associated with the AI ​​technology stack, with buyers mostly being AI companies themselves using them for product branding). It's worth noting that seven transactions ranked 17th-23rd were concentrated in the $100,000 price range—$100,000 has become a psychological threshold for six-figure .AI domains.

.agent TLD: A Dedicated Namespace for AI Agents

If .AI domains passively benefited from the AI ​​industry boom, then .agent TLDs are infrastructure tailor-made for AI agents.

Currently, the new .agent top-level domain is undergoing ICANN's new gTLD application process and has entered the community review stage. Its positioning is not just another generic suffix, but a dedicated namespace for the AI ​​agent ecosystem—providing agents with verifiable identities, a structured developer directory, and a trust framework based on community governance.

The core logic of .agent TLDs is: when agents interact with each other online, the .agent domain itself serves as an identity endorsement. Just as .edu represents educational institutions and .gov represents government agencies, .agent represents "this is a verified AI agent."

Meanwhile, the Solana Foundation + SNS is applying for a .sol gTLD (ICANN Early Warning has been submitted), attempting to map on-chain domain names to the traditional DNS system. The application window for the new gTLD closes on August 12th, and ICANN has received 365 SIRs, involving 313 unique strings. Domain name applications related to AI agents are likely just one of the biggest themes of this cycle.

Token Economics: From Technical Measurement to Industry Pricing Unit

Another underlying theme at WAIC 2026 was tokens.

Tokens were originally a technical measurement unit for large models, but in the industry context of this conference, they are becoming a core indicator for measuring AI productivity. The three major telecom operators are accelerating their shift from "traffic management" to "token management." China Telecom launched a token security router to achieve quota management and cost attribution; SenseTime launched a "Token Plan" payment system; and PPIO claims to save 60%-80% on token costs through intelligent model gateways.

Moore Threads proposed three "AI factory" concepts at the conference: model training factory, lexical production factory, and intelligent agent production factory. Wuwen Chip showcased its "Token Super Factory," claiming a 10-fold reduction in inference costs for trillion-parameter models.

As tokens become measurable, schedulable, and tradable factors of production, the value of domain names associated with "Token" is being redefined.

Token.ai, TokenEconomy.ai, TokenMarket.ai… these domains are no longer just technical labels, but rather entry points to the new infrastructure of the AI ​​industry.

Embodied Intelligence: A Physical Extension of the Domain Name Landscape

This year's WAIC featured a dedicated Embodied Intelligence zone for the first time, showcasing 208 embodied intelligent terminals, with humanoid robots taking center stage. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that from January to May 2026, the sales revenue of robot manufacturing increased by 30.1% year-on-year, and the annual output of humanoid robots in China is expected to exceed 100,000 units.

From factory workshops to home services, AI is transforming from a "brain in the cloud" to a "hand in your life." This trend impacts domain names: embodyed intelligence-related domains are shifting from conceptual speculation to industrial demand.

Embodied.ai, Robotics.ai, Humanoid.ai… As robots begin to connect to the network and possess their own digital identities and communication addresses, they need not .com website domains, but verifiable, routable, and manageable device identifiers. This is the underlying logic behind the potential new growth points for .agent TLDs and IoT domains (.iot, .dev, etc.).

Governance Dimension: WAICO and the Global AI Domain Name Landscape

On the opening day of WAIC, 29 countries signed the WAICO agreement. This Shanghai-based intergovernmental organization aims to promote global AI cooperation and governance.

From a domain name perspective, the construction of a global AI governance system means a significant increase in demand for compliant domain names. As countries negotiate on AI rules, cross-border data transfer, and algorithm regulation, the frequency of using domain name structures that comply with different jurisdictions, brand protection strategies, and the UDRP dispute resolution mechanism will all rise.

ICANN itself is also addressing the governance challenges brought by AI. Its ongoing PDP (Policy Development Process) proposes to restrict bulk AI domain name registrations, requiring registrars to set thresholds for "untrusted registrants," with approval expected as early as the end of 2027 and implementation in 2028. The "technology-neutral" wording of this policy means that AI-driven domain name registration will be subject to a stricter regulatory framework.

On the one hand, AI agents require a large number of domain names to operate; on the other hand, ICANN is creating friction for bulk AI registrations. This contradiction will become one of the most critical governance issues in the domain name industry over the next two years.

In conclusion

WAIC 2026 sent a clear signal: AI is transitioning from "demonstrating capabilities" to "creating value." 1100 companies, 300 first-time launches, 9 Turing/Nobel laureates, and 29 countries signing governance agreements—behind these numbers lies a rapidly developing AI industry ecosystem.

For the domain name industry, this means:

On the demand side—AI Agents, Token Economy, and Embodied Intelligence are creating entirely new layers of domain name demand, not just traditional "website building" demand, but "operation," "identity," and "transaction" demand.

On the supply side—.AI domain name transactions continue to explode (23 six-figure deals in the first half of the year, totaling over $5.4 million), new .agent TLDs are entering ICANN review, and the premium logic for AI infrastructure domain names is shifting from "investment goods" to "essential needs."

On the governance side—ICANN plans to restrict bulk AI registrations, WAICO is promoting a global AI governance framework, and the UDRP controversy remains active—the reshaping of rules will profoundly impact the security and liquidity of domain name assets.

As the global AI industry's attention focuses on Shanghai, domain name professionals should ask themselves this question: In this technological wave involving 1,100 companies, 300 new domain names, and 29 countries, which keywords will become the gateways to the next generation of digital infrastructure?

The answer may lie in the domain name portfolio you hold.

DN.com, a global domain name trading platform, gathers a large number of high-quality domain name resources in the AI ​​field—covering popular areas such as .AI, .agent, Token, Agent, and Embodied AI. Global domain name investors and enterprise users are welcome to browse and purchase!