Amazing growth of .ai domains in 2023! 20,000 registrations per month!

The registration volume of .ai domain suffix has surged, reflecting the increasingly prominent role of artificial intelligence on the global stage. According to official registration data, the total number of .ai domains has reached 353,928, with over 100,000 domains registered in the second half of 2023. The figures show a rapid growth trend, with an 84.73% increase in the past 6 months of 2023 and over 20,000 new registrations each month.

The .ai ccTLD was initially established as the country code top-level domain for the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla and has traditionally been a common country-specific domain. However, with the release of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, there has been an increased demand for the extension.

"Under normal circumstances, we register over 20,000 domains each month," Vincent Cate, who manages .ai domains in Anguilla, mentioned. "On a typical day, there are over 700 names registered."

Interesting Facts about .ai Domains:

- 353,928 is the total number of .ai registered domains (as of December 2023).

- 20,000 new domains are registered monthly.

- 84.73% is the growth rate of .ai in the past 6 months of 2023.

- 146% is the growth rate in an 18-month period (from July 2022 to December 2023).

- $700,000 is the highest reported transaction amount for a .ai domain (you.ai).

- .ai domains generate approximately $3 million in revenue per month.

- $28.4 million is the revenue generated by .ai domains in 2023.

- Anguilla charges $140 for each registered .ai domain and renewal.

- 6.9% is the predicted growth in Anguilla's GDP for 2024 based on .ai demand and tourism.

Utilizing .ai as a Technological Denominator:

The growth in .ai domain registrations is primarily driven by significant technological advancements in the United States and Europe. Startups and tech companies are purchasing .ai-related domains for their projects, while speculators acquire these domains to later sell for profit (a practice known as domain investing).

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft use .ai domains to direct users to AI-based projects and innovations. Other companies centered around artificial intelligence, such as Office.ai, Jasper.ai, and Elon Musk's X.ai, adopt the .ai suffix to represent their digital identity.

According to NameBio, .ai acquisitions began to rise in early 2024, with vision.ai selling for $100,000 on January 1. The record remains HubSpot founder Dharmesh Shah's purchase of the you.ai domain for $700,000 in October 2023.

Performance of .ai Domains in 2023 Exceeds Expectations Threefold:

The small nation of Anguilla, with a population of over 15,000, has long relied on tourism and offshore banking. Now, it is experiencing a new wave of economic growth, partly attributed to the popularity of its domains.

Domain registrars like GoDaddy must pay Anguilla $140 every two years for domain registrations. According to the official budget report of Anguilla, the performance of domain registrations significantly exceeded budget estimates, totaling over $28 million in 2023 (77.18 million East Caribbean dollars), three times the initial projection.

Supported by demand in the tourism and .ai sectors, the country's GDP is expected to grow robustly by 6.95% in 2024. The Anguilla government recently ceased property taxes on residences for its citizens.

.ai and .io, among other country-specific codes, are part of the ISO 3166-1 standard established in 1974. This was long before the advent of the internet as we know it, so the future value of these codes was not considered. Looking at the impact that associating two letters together has had over time is quite fascinating.