Anguilla, a tiny British Caribbean island territory with a population of ~16,000, is cashing in on the AI gold rush in an unusual way.
You know how some places have their own special domain code, like .ca for Canada or .uk for the U.K.? That’s called a country code top-level domain (ccTLD), and Anguilla’s happens to be .ai. So every time a .ai web address is registered or renewed, the country gets paid.
- Anguilla’s not the first place to capitalize off of a fortuitous domain. Tuvalu pulls in revenue from .tv, Libya from .ly, and Montenegro from .me.
Last year, Anguilla saw revenue from .ai domain registrations quadruple to US$32 million, roughly 20% of all government revenue. With that number set to grow even further, it's inking a deal with domain manager Identity Digital to help get a handle on things.
- Anguilla plans to use the windfall to cover free medical care for seniors, expand its airport, open a vocational centre at its one high school, and bolster emergency funds.
Why it matters: The partnership won’t just benefit Anguilla, but the users of these sites. The deal will connect the domain names to Identity Digital’s servers for more stable access. It will also provide more oversight to ensure that scammy websites don’t overrun the .ai domain.
Zoom out: For an example of this, look at the territory of Tokelau. Its .tk domain became the most common ccTLD in the world. Unfortunately, it’s mostly used by cybercriminals. Thanks to a shady domain manager, nearly 9 million sites with .tk domains shut down this year.—QH