DotBrands made a significant impact in ICANN’s 2026 Round, with one in five applications being a dotBrand. This demonstrates a strong commitment to the future of digital identity. ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Reveal Day conveyed a powerful message: brand owners are investing in their own part of the internet. Of the 1,615 applications submitted by 481 applicants, 333 are designated dotBrand applications representing 20.6% of the total. That’s more than one in five applications, reinforcing the growing strategic importance of brands controlling their digital namespaces. For the Brand Registry Group (BRG), the results mark an important milestone in the evolution of dotBrands from early experimentation to established enterprise strategy.

The Brands Behind the Numbers

The diversity of applicants is particularly striking. Global technology leaders, financial institutions, retailers, healthcare organizations, and consumer brands are represented in the 2026 round. Notable applied-for strings include:

• AI, Apps and technology: .uber, .openai, .chatgpt, .claude, .anthropic, .gemini, .metaai, .adobe, .cloudflare, .palantir, .salesforce and .snowflake
• Retail and consumer brands: .adidas, .airbnb, .ebay, .etsy, .lowes, .ralphlauren, .newbalance, .converse, .zillow and .shopify
• Financial services: .bankofamerica, .goldmansachs, .merrill, .allianz, .cibc, .bmo, .stripe, .wise and .synchrony
• Healthcare and life sciences: .novartis, .biontech, .gilead, .gehealthcare, .adventhealth, .mychart and .novo
• Media, entertainment and digital platforms: .tiktok, .instagram, .facebook, .twitch, .roblox, .nhl, .roku and .taylorswift
• Automotive and industrial: .mazda, .kawasaki, .scania, .michelin, .waymo and .chevron

The participation of AI innovators is especially noteworthy. As AI agents, automated services, and digital experiences proliferate, trusted and recognizable online destinations could become increasingly important.

But the story extends far beyond technology. The range of applicants demonstrates that dotBrands are relevant across nearly every major industry.

Why dotBrands Matter More Than Ever

Unlike traditional domain registrations, a dotBrand gives an organization control over an entire top-level namespace. That control creates opportunities to strengthen digital identity, establish trusted customer destinations, improve namespace governance, and introduce new services without relying exclusively on third-party domains. Existing operators have already demonstrated the possibilities through destinations such as cloud.microsoft, ai.android, go.zara, and home.sandvik. These examples illustrate an important point: a dotBrand’s success is measured not by the number of domains it registers, but by the business value it delivers.

The Next Chapter for Brand Owners

The 2026 applicants are entering a more mature ecosystem than their predecessors in 2012, with established registry providers, operational experience, and proven use cases to help inform their strategies. The next milestones are already approaching. The replacement-string period runs October 8–21, followed by String Confirmation Day on November 17. For BRG, the focus now shifts from application activity to successful implementation for the BRG members. Contact the BRG if you are a new applicant and want to better understand how to navigate ICANN requirements, learn from experienced operators, and establish best practices for sustainable dotBrand TLDs.

The 333 dotBrand applications represent more than a statistic. They signal an enduring commitment by global brands to take greater ownership of their digital identities. The 2012 round introduced the dotBrand opportunity. The 2026 round could define its next era of adoption.

Editorial note: These are applications, not yet approved or delegated TLDs. The final applied-for strings will be confirmed November 17, 2026.