ICANN Reveals 2026 Round Applications for New Generic Top-Level Domains | Hacker News Reader

ICANN Reveals 2026 Round Applications for New Generic Top-Level Domains

icann.org

I remember when I worked for a registry (not a registrar) before the first launch of gTLD's. Bizarrely one of the products they were excited to promote was not to register domains under a TLD, but rather, to _block_ them. The idea being that if you wanted to make sure someone else didn't register <company_name>.[sucks, stupid, whatever] you had to pay them (Donuts) to make sure it didn't happen. It felt extortionate.

Apparently it's still a thing. https://kb.centralnicreseller.com/services/brand-protection/...

http://caltechrejects.com/ takes you to https://mit.edu/: you don't need a .sucks TLD to be funny.

Similarly, someone I know set up http://factoryfloorsweepings.com/ to redirect to AliExpress. :)

tesla.com or amazon.com would have been too obvious. /s

I worked on the .name application, and it was a key thing we were basically required to demonstrate we could do even back in 2000. ICANN was obsessed with protecting trademark holders.

They certainly charged a pretty penny for this protection!

> It felt extortionate.

Because it is.

gTLDs include .com, .org, .info etc, so they have been around pretty much since the beginning of public dns

the domain industry is completely insane

In fairness, the problem they're trying to solve is insanely complex. Not surprising that the solution went off the rails.

Anthropic applied for `.claude` and `.anthropic`. OpenAI applied for: agent, agi, asi, chatgpt, codex, daybreak, deploy, evals, gpt, mcp, model, oai, openai, skill, & voice.

Meta Registry Holdings LLC applied for: agent, aiglasses, facebook, frommeta, insta, instagram, llama, loc, messenger, meta, metaai, metaglasses, metaverse, muse, reels, superintelligence, threads, vrs, wearables, whatsapp

Charleston Road Registry Inc. (doing business as Google Registry): agent, alphabet, api, ask, beam, browser, cast, chromebook, chromium, classroom, deepmind, find, fitbit, gem, gemini, gemma, genie, gke, intelligence, keep, lens, lesson, lyria, maps, mcp, nest, pixel, share, sheets, shorts, slides, teach, ultra, veo, vids, waymo, waze, wear, workspace

I'll never cease to be amazed at what large companies will throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at just to _apply_ for a new gTLD. I mean what's the demand for whatever.superintelligence? Nobody is going to type that or notice it in a URL bar and think anything but "damn, that's a long TLD" while the dozens of other shorter AI focused TLDs sit there too.

It is not an exaggeration that tech companies have far, far more money than they know what to do with. Not all spending looks good to investors, so layoffs must happen, but this is nothing compared to the amounts of money Google, Meta, etc, blow on completely inexplicable / SVP vanity projects every year.

Checked all primary strings for length, the 3 longest (excluding punycode notations):

.superintelligence (17)

.registeredagent (15)

.meditativemind (14)

.intelligence (12) is also in the top 10 longest primary strings.

i was expecting something like .supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Non-tech companies are getting sucked in, too - see, for example, the applications for .airliquide, .capitalgroup, .dinebrands, .massimodutti, .newbalance, .stubhub, .warhammer, .zarahome, and so on.

From what I've seen thus far, most brand TLDs never get used. (The only significant exception that comes to mind is .google, and even they never really committed to using it.) Who's been going around convincing these companies to apply for this round?

.zarahome is just crazy.

They registered .zara 10 years ago [0], but they don't use https://home.zara for some reason.

[0] https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/zara.html

Google mainly uses .goog for infrastructure (from cloud, gclb, gke, pki, to printer.in) while .google is more of the about page of services.

The pharmaceutical company Hisamitsu uses its TLD:

https://us.hisamitsu

The whole thing is just a money grab for ICANN.

So Meta, Google and OpenAI all applied for .agent

Some of these keywords are so valuable that I see them all forming a consortium of sorts to share access amongst themselves.

Or they’ll give it to the highest bidder =\

It should be available to the public and businesses without a(nother) company in between: if we had our act together.

I think .cos and .con should probably be rejected for typosquatting concerns.

I'm pretty sure I'd be very happy reading something on just.cos every day, and as well copy.con too, might be very topical .. but sin.cos and contra.con and bin.con are gonna get bumpy ..

Also noticed .not

also.not would be a great daily read I'm sure.

https://newtlds.lol/

Apparently .agent the most requested with 13 orgs applying for it.

Followed by .bit with 11, and .api, .brand, .hub with 10 each.

And apparently "Link Freedom Group Ltd" has 213 active applications, and "XYZ.COM LLC" has 182 active applications.

Here is a direct link to the applied TLDs: https://newgtldprogram-aps.icann.org/applications

If my counting is correct (the results wrap across multiple pages), 13 companies applied for the .agent TLD.

The CSV download button gives the full table.

Amusingly, .scam is being applied for.

A real scam would never use that TLD, it would be too obvious. Therefore, you know any .scam website must be legit

The real scam is getting companies to pay to make sure someone else doesn't register companyname.scam.

...or that's just what they want you to think.

“SCAM means a dishonest scheme designed to deceive. .SCAM gives people a place to exercise free speech, share warnings and help others spot trouble before it spreads. Turn the word against deception.”

XYZ.COM LLC as applying entity

I put together a quick website to explore the 2026 new gTLD applications, including the applicants and the strings they've applied for.

https://sohib.github.io/icann-2026-gtld-explorer/

That is a pretty cool website. Thank you for making it.

"ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet."

No, ICANN mission is to make more money and maintain strong monopoly. Maybe they can be honest about it.

".exe" here I come.

.lnk, .com.

Or , if you are evil, .con or .prn or .com1

Someone applied for .slop, I hope they make it.

I was so proud of myname.dev maybe 5-10 years ago, migrating it to .slop will really bring in 2027, I hope they let me

Please, no more... don't we already have enough junk tlds?

No because domain squatters take 99% of the good ones.

Although it seems better for .ai where the price has been increased so that you have to pay $180 for the first 2 years. There are still a lot of squatters but not as many as the cheap TLDs, and $180 is still within range for a startup or hobbyist so I hope more TLDs do this.

No because ICANN needs money again.

These events have nothing to do with domains. They are funding rounds for the corrupt organisation known as ICANN.

Thanks for all the phish

can't believe their going to get away with stealing & re-allocating third level .name addresses while simultaneously enshittifying the domain name system with any of these unworthy and over-long addresses.

I want slop.claude

Also see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49997249 for the 1372 unique strings:

abion, acc, account, accounting, ace, acg, act, action, active, ada, add, adeka, adidas, adk, admin, admiral, adobe, adventhealth, adventure, advice, advisor, advisors, advisory, aeon, agc, age, agent, agentic, agentid, agentur, agi, agile, agnt, agt, aiagent, aid, aiglasses, aio, aiq, air, airbnb, airliquide, airo, ais, akamai, album, alexa, algo, alicloud, all, alliance, allianz, allin, aloha, alpha, alphabet, alsac, alsok, alum, alumni, ami, amor, amp, analog, anime, anon, ans, ansid, antel, anthropic, any, ape, apex, api, apparel, applebees, arabbank, arc, archive, arena, argenx, article, artisan, artisanal, artist, arzt, asap, asdf, asi, ask, ass, asset, association, astro, asus, ate, atelier, athletics, atkinsrealis, atl, atlas, atom, atos, att, attbusiness, atto, audit, aura, auth, automation, avax, ave, avocat, axis, axon, backup, bad, bag, bakery, bali, ball, bang, bankofamerica, bao, base, bau, bay, bazaar, bbq, bca, bci, bdo, beach, beam, beijing, ber, bershka, beta, betr, bewell, bff, big, bili, bilibili, bill, bin, biontech, biotech, bistro, bit, bitcoin, bland, bldg, blend, bln, block, blvd, bmo, bnb, board, body, bold, bolt, boom, boost, borg, borrow, boss, bpce, brain, branch, brand, bremen, brew, bro, browse, browser, bsky, btc, btgpactual, btr, btw, bud, budapest, buddy, bug, bun, butterfly, cake, campania, cams, cancel, cannabis, canuck, canva, canvas, cap, capcut, capitalgroup, cardano, carecredit, cart, cartoon, cas, cashpro, cast, catalog, cater, cause, ccc, cdn, cell, cencora, central, century, cert, certified, chain, change, charge, chatgpt, check, chef, chess, chevron, chi, chic, chip, christian, chromebook, chromium, ciao, cibc, civic, class, classroom, claude, claw, clean, cleaners, clear, cli, cloak, clone, cloudflare, cmo, cms, cna, cnp, cnpassurances, coaching, codex, coin, collection, collective, come, comedy, comics, commerce, commercial, compute, con, concierge, conex, conf, config, connect, consult, consultants, contest, control, converse, copilot, core, corp, corporation, cos, cosmetics, cosplay, cot, counseling, couture, craft, craps, create, creations, creative, creator, crew, crm, crypto, csc, cscglobal, csr, ctrl, culture, cupshe, cyb, cyber, cygames, daihatsu, daily, daiwa, dao, dapp, dash, datadog, daybreak, ddd, decor, deep, deepmind, deeptech, defense, defi, demo, den, dentistry, deploy, depot, develop, developer, development, device, dia, dian, did, dine, dinebrands, dmgmori, dna, dns, docomo, dola, donate, donor, door, doubao, douyin, dpp, dragon, dream, drink, droid, drone, drop, dub, dunlop, duo, dyna, earn, easy, ebay, echo, echostar, edge, edible, edit, eero, ego, elect, electric, elite, engine, english, ens, ent, enter, entity, epic, eqt, equs, era, erica, esg, esports, etc, ether, ethereum, ethers, etsy, euro, evals, exfy, exness, exp, expedia, explore, expo, ext, extra, extravaganza, eye, fab, facebook, fact, factory, fafo, fair, fam, fanatics, fandom, fantasy, fanuc, faq, fart, fastly, fav, feed, fest, festival, fight, file, files, find, finder, fintech, firm, fitbit, fix, flagscape, flipkart, flow, flux, focus, folder, folio, follow, for, force, forge, form, format, forms, founder, foundry, frame, frankfurt, frax, freedom, freelance, fresh, frhc, frommeta, ftw, fuel, fujitv, fundraise, funny, furry, fusion, future, gamecocks, gamer, gaming, gas, gate, gateway, gear, geek, gehealthcare, gem, gemini, gemma, gen, general, generalinc, genesys, genie, get, getaway, ghost, gig, gilead, girl, gis, git, gke, glam, glasses, gleif, glitch, globe, glow, gmi, goat, god, goldmansachs, good, goods, gossip, goto, gpt, gram, graph, great, grid, grit, grow, growth, gtld, guard, guild, gym, hack, haier, haierbros, hakuhodo, halara, hall, ham, han, hao, happy, hard, hash, hat, haute, heart, hello, her, hero, hers, hey, hid, hike, hill, hilton, hims, hip, hire, hisense, hit, hive, hodl, hola, homecare, honey, hongguo, hop, hope, hospitality, howto, huawei, hub, hubid, hug, huge, human, humanity, hund, hunt, huo, hvac, hype, iam, icon, icp, ics, idea, identity, idk, ify, ihop, iii, image, immersive, impact, indeed, index, indie, indigenous, inditex, industrial, industry, inf, infinite, inn, ins, insights, insta, instagram, intel, intelligence, inter, interiors, internet, inv, invest, invite, ion, ipr, ish, ishere, island, item, itis, itiswhatitis, ity, ivf, jackpot, jackson, jazz, jbs, jelly, jera, jet, jia, jin, jjj, join, joinus, journal, journey, jtg, jtgroup, jti, juliusmeinl, kai, kaneka, kao, kart, kawaii, kawasaki, keep, kek, kernel, key, kgs, kick, king, kit, know, koala, konicaminolta, kord, krafton, kuiper, lab, label, labs, laden, lake, lan, landcros, lane, larus, leads, league, learn, learning, ledger, lefties, legacy, legami, lei, lend, lens, leo, lesson, let, level, lfg, liebherr, lifetime, lift, light, line, links, linz, lipovitan, list, listing, lit, livescore, lkab, llama, llm, lmao, lmax, lmk, lms, loc, lock, lodge, log, logic, login, logistics, look, loop, lore, lot, lounge, lovable, lowes, luck, luckin, luckincoffee, lugano, lvs, lyria, machine, mad, mag, maga, magavip, mai, mail, make, maker, mall, manga, maps, mark, mars, mart, mask, massage, massimodutti, master, mate, math, matrix, matt, max, mazda, mbda, mcp, mech, meditative, meditativemind, medley, meeting, mei, meinl, meli, mem, member, memo, memory, mempool, mentor, meow, merch, merlin, merrill, mesh, messenger, met, meta, metaai, metaglasses, metaverse, michelin, min, mind, mine, mission, mitsui, mix, mizuho, mkt, mmm, mod, mode, model, module, mono, montecarlo, mood, moon, more, motion, motors, move, msft, msig, muenchen, mufg, muse, mvp, mychart, myntra, nas, nation, national, nav, near, need, neko, neo, nerd, nest, neumann, neural, newbalance, nft, nhl, nice, nightlife, nil, nissin, nlp, node, noe, nomura, nonprofit, north, not, note, notes, notion, nova, novartis, novo, novocare, npc, nrs, nsfw, ntv, null, nusa, nut, nutrition, oai, official, oid, oil, okay, okta, okx, ola, ole, olympic, omg, only, onn, opc, openai, opensource, operator, opinion, oppo, ops, orb, order, organization, organize, original, oss, otaku, oto, out, outlet, owl, own, oysho, pack, pai, painting, pal, palantir, panda, park, pass, passion, passkey, passport, path, paws, pax, pch, pdf, peach, pec, peptides, person, personal, pflege, pharma, phi, php, pia, pickleball, pico, pill, pinet, pit, pix, pixel, pki, plan, planet, planner, platform, playlist, plaza, plc, plex, pltr, pod, podcast, point, pool, pop, port, portal, portfolio, pos, pot, pov, pow, power, ppp, praxis, predict, premium, present, presto, pride, print, private, product, products, profile, program, project, prompt, proto, protocol, proton, prototype, proxy, pubg, public, publishing, puff, pullandbear, pump, punk, purpose, push, qai, qqq, quant, quantum, queen, query, quince, quiz, quote, qwe, qwen, qwer, race, radar, railway, ralphlauren, ramp, ranch, rank, rankings, rap, rare, rating, raw, rblx, real, realm, records, recovery, rednote, reels, registeredagent, rem, remax, renewable, reno, rep, reply, repo, res, research, reservation, resona, resort, resources, resume, retail, rev, rewards, ring, ripple, risk, ritres, road, roblox, robot, robotaxi, robotics, roku, roland, roma, roof, roofing, round, rrr, saas, sabre, safari, sage, saison, salesforce, salzburg, san, sands, sat, say, scale, scam, scan, scania, sci, screen, sdk, sea, sec, secom, securitas, see, seiko, seite, self, sell, send, seniors, sennheiser, sense, seo, server, set, share, sheets, shield, shift, shimano, shinoken, shionogi, ship, shiro, shopify, shorts, sicredi, sign, sim, simplii, sito, skill, skills, slack, slay, sleep, slides, sloan, slop, slot, smb, smbc, smith, smtb, snow, snowflake, sns, soc, socialmedia, society, sodexo, soft, sokagakkai, sol, solana, solo, sompo, soon, sos, sou, soul, sound, source, sov, spark, special, speed, spice, spirit, spring, squad, src, sss, stack, stake, start, stats, status, stay, steel, stem, stiftung, stjude, stock, stone, story, stradivarius, strategy, street, stripe, stubhub, stupid, substrate, sugar, sui, summit, super, superintelligence, sure, survey, sus, sushi, sushiro, sview, swap, swedbank, swi, swift, sync, synchrony, syndicate, synth, sys, tableau, taco, tada, tag, taisho, takamiya, tanaka, tap, taser, task, taylorswift, tbd, tbs, tea, teach, telegram, telus, temple, ten, tether, tex, text, the, therapist, therapy, thing, this, threads, tiger, tiktok, time, tiny, tisi, tkns, tldr, tnl, token, tokiomarine, tom, tone, toppan, toy, track, trademark, traffic, trail, train, trainer, transcend, transit, translate, transport, tree, trek, trending, trends, trimble, trip, triumph, tron, tropic, truck, true, trump, truth, trx, try, ttt, tumblr, tutorial, tvasahi, twente, twin, twitch, twosigma, twt, uber, ufo, uid, ulm, ultra, ultraview, uni, union, unit, united, universe, unlimited, update, upload, upsa, url, usc, usdt, use, user, uvw, uwu, valid, valley, value, van, vault, vegan, vend, venue, veo, ver, vercel, verein, verified, versant, vert, via, vibe, vid, vids, vienna, view, village, vintage, viral, virtual, visit, viv, voice, volunteer, vpn, vps, vrbo, vrs, vvv, wager, wallet, wan, want, war, warhammer, water, wave, waw, way, waymo, waze, wealth, wear, wearables, weed, weird, welcome, well, wellness, west, wew, what, whatsapp, whatsnew, why, wifi, wild, will, wire, wise, wit, wix, wiz, wizard, wonder, woo, wood, wordpress, workflow, workshop, workspace, wynn, xbt, xiaomi, xio, xmr, xn--04q76x2mcuuv / 海尔兄弟, xn--3ds443g / 在线, xn--3et971b / 海尔, xn--6oqv20b1zgzxr / 株式会社, xn--bur6r91txtx / 瑞幸咖啡, xn--ces6a / 地址, xn--czr694b / 商标, xn--eqr661e / 名片, xn--fiq228c5hs / 中文网, xn--fpy230a / 番茄, xn--g2xx48c / 购物, xn--gmq502atzh / 数字人, xn--gmqr38alogxt2a / 人工智能, xn--gmqz0qc7o / 机器人, xn--gtv852c / 红果, xn--hxt324i / 酒店, xn--imr513n / 餐厅, xn--io0a7i / 网络, xn--jvr800e / 品牌, xn--kbt444f / 官网, xn--lwt700c / 瑞幸, xn--npqq54o / 防伪, xn--pruv10j / 抖音, xn--qubec-csa / québec, xn--tqq477c0xs / 智能体, xn--uir314m / 钱包, xn--vuq143e / 海信, xoxo, xpi, xserver, xxl, yam, yay, yea, yeah, yes, ygeia, yoyo, yuasa, yueyang, yum, yyy, zan, zap, zarahome, zec, zen, zia, zillow, zoho, zoo, zoom, zzz

I hope whoever registers index.php uses that power for good.

So…visually reviewing domains will finally become impossible, forcing us to make certificate and key pair stuff actually user-usable?

Not the worst outcome, but…it’s going to be a mess.

that already happened during previous round

I suddenly feel the need to own at least one .fart domain.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com