Investments and earnings in the field of artificial intelligence are greater than ever, including for those who have nothing to do with the IT field. For example, the tiny island nation of Anguilla, with a population of just 16,000, has suddenly become extremely popular with AI startups. It’s all about its national domain .ai, similar to the abbreviation “AI” (Artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence).
Anguilla received its domain in the 1990s and has been officially handing out web addresses on this domain since 1995, but for obvious reasons, few people have ever been interested in them. Now the situation has changed dramatically, requests are in continuous
flow, in just one year 287,432 new addresses were registered. The hype around .ai domains began on November 30, 2022, the day of the public launch of ChatGPT.
The state of Anguilla has already earned about $30 million, or 10% of its annual income, from registering domains for AI startups. Given that almost the entire economy of the island is based on tourism, this is a very good diversification. Now the flow of requests has stabilized, but Anguilla continues to make money on domains, requiring a fixed payment for two years of use in the amount of $140 at once. The final price of an address depends on many factors and can reach very significant values.