Tiny Caribbean Island Enjoying Its Remarkable Piece of Luck
- Editor OGN Daily
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Something remarkable has been happening to Anguilla’s economy - and it’s nothing to do with tourism.
Through an astounding piece of luck, the country code for its internet domain is .ai and Anguilla, eager to take advantage of its good fortune, is selling the rights to use it for millions. From start-ups to multinational giants, companies are scrambling to secure their .ai addresses, and literally every registration funnels money back to the Anguilla government's ever increasing coffers.
US tech guru Dharmesh Shah, co-founder of hubspot, is said to have spent $700,000 on just one domain: you.ai. In recent weeks, .ai auctions have seen more major six-figure sales. In July, cloud.ai sold for a reported $600,000 and law.ai sold for $350,000 in September. But while these big ticket sales capture all the headlines, actually it’s the volume of lower level .ai domain names selling at approximately six times what a “normal” .com would go for which is powering Anguilla’s economy.
Indeed, its technology minister Jose Vanterpool said last month that .ai sales would bring in 47 percent of the national revenues in 2025. This was after a draft budget which noted it earned $38m from selling domain names in 2024 - almost a quarter of its total revenues. So, in just 12 months, its serendipitous cashflow has doubled, and there is no sign of it slowing down any time soon.
“Before ChatGPT and other AI technologies the .ai revenues would bring in less than one per cent,” admitted Vanterpool in an interview shared on the Anguilla government’s social media feeds. “This has soared and is now projected to perform even better than expected. Anguilla is truly a blessed place, and this is a gift that we can only say was given to us by God.”
Happily, the future is therefore rosier for the island's 16,000 inhabitants. Anguilla is spending its .ai domain revenue on public infrastructure projects, including expanding its airport, improving healthcare access, developing renewable energy sources, strengthening educational technology centers, and reducing national debt. By investing the windfall into these long-term projects and public services, Anguilla aims to strengthen its financial self-sufficiency and make its economy more resilient and sustainable.
