ICANN Reveal Day data shows 1,614 new gTLD applications across 986 strings
in plain words
ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers The nonprofit that coordinates the global DNS and gTLD policy. Full definition of ICANN released its full list of applications for new internet domain endings, like .agent or .robot. There are 1,614 applications this round, fewer than in 2012, but more of them compete for the same names. Artificial intelligence related names, such as .agent with thirteen competing applicant An organization that has applied to ICANN to run a new gTLD. Full definition of applicant including Google, Meta and OpenAI, are the most fought over.
ICANN’s Reveal Day The day ICANN publishes who applied for which new gTLD strings. Full definition of Reveal Day announcement of September 29, 2026, followed by an official export finalized on October 8, lists 1,614 primary applications covering 986 distinct applied-for string The characters an applicant asks ICANN to approve as a new top-level domain. Full definition of applied-for string submitted by 480 entities, according to figures compiled by Emmanuel Gillet for iptwins.com. That compares with the 2012 round The first round of ICANN's New gTLD Program, which opened for applications in 2012. Full definition of 2012 round, which drew 1,930 applications for 1,409 distinct strings at an evaluation fee of 185,000 dollars, versus 227,000 dollars this time, a 23 percent increase. Despite the higher fee, applications fell 16 percent and distinct strings dropped 30 percent, a trend the analysis attributes more to market maturity and the fate of some unsuccessful 2012-era gTLD generic top-level domain A top-level domain not tied to a country, run under ICANN contracts. Full definition of gTLD than to cost alone.
A notable shift is that 55 percent of 2026 applications are in direct contention for the same string, up from 39 percent in 2012, suggesting fewer but more determined applicants. North America leads geographically with 864 applications, ahead of Europe’s 506 and Asia-Pacific’s 217, though Malta’s unusually high count of 158 stems from a single applicant, Link Freedom Group. Four portfolio A collection of domains held by one owner. Full definition of portfolio operators together account for nearly 28 percent of all applications.
Sorting applications by sector shows short generic and lifestyle terms as the largest category with 414 applications across 220 strings, followed by technology, cloud and cybersecurity with 274 applications and 185 strings, including 89 dot-brand filings. Media, entertainment and social platforms account for 152 applications, and commerce and fashion for 145.
Artificial intelligence and agent-related terms, while numbering only 121 applications across 55 strings, show the highest contention rate at 69 percent. The most contested string overall is .agent, with thirteen applicants including Google, Meta, OpenAI and a community applicant. Others heavily contested include .robot with nine applicants, .agi and .mind with seven each, and .mcp, named after the Model Context Protocol, with five. Major AI companies also filed defensive dot-brand applications for their own names, including .openai, .chatgpt, .gpt, .gemini, .deepmind, .llama, .metaai, .claude and .anthropic.
Broader technology applications include developer-oriented terms such as .api, .key, .connect and .portal, alongside dot-brand filings from infrastructure companies including Cloudflare. Crypto-related applications total 81, including eleven for .bit, while media filings are driven by platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitch.