.brain
Is .brain a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.brain is contested: 4 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 8 October 2026. They are Intercap, Starlight (Namecheap), Name Space and Link Freedom Group. XYZ Registry named .brain as a backup string for its .plan application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Oinkadot named .brain as a backup string for its .spice application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. GoDaddy Registry named .brain as a backup string for its .agi application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A catchy word for neurotech, AI hobbyists, and meme culture, but few serious projects would make .brain their main address.
neurotech and brain-computer interface startups, brain-training and mental-wellness apps, AI tinkerers, and meme-minded personal-site owners looking for a playful hack like a 'big' or 'galaxy' prefix
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Where everything comes together.”
One of 10 strings Name Space LLC (led by Gerardo Aristizabal, who won .blog in the 2012 round) applied for in the ICANN 2026 round, reported by Domain Name Wire on 2026-08-18.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .agi application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .spice application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .plan application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: a single common noun for a body organ whose commercial value is almost entirely metaphorical breadth (health/research on one side, emotive branding on the other), with no defined registrant class that would treat it as their category address.
Same bet in structure: an abstract faculty noun that straddles one literal professional vertical (eyecare, as .brain has neuro/health) and a much larger metaphorical market (foresight, intelligence), so it must be sold as evocative branding rather than as a category directory.
Same bet of selling a big, ownerless abstract concept noun on suggestive power alone — buyers self-select from every industry, which means high brandability but no natural anchor tenant to seed the zone.
What a .brain domain is
.brain is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our AI & tech category. 4 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .brain domain extension real yet?
.brain is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .brain domain?
You can’t yet. A .brain name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens.
Is .brain a real TLD?
Not yet. .brain is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .brain is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Starlight (Namecheap) · noteDomain Name Wire
- XYZ Registry · first recordedICANN
- Oinkadot · first recordedICANN
- GoDaddy Registry · first recordedICANN
- Intercap · first recordedICANN
- Starlight (Namecheap) · first recordedICANN
- Name Space · now confirmedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now confirmedICANN
- Name Space · first recordedDomain Name Wire
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“BEI2691T-T83300 · Bellatrix Exploration, Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-30 IRI2679T-T97493 · Intercap Registry Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-30 LFGL2683T-T87058 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-30 NSL2674T-T89586 · NAME SPACE LLC · primary · contention set 2026-30”ICANN
“BEI2691T-T83300 · Bellatrix Exploration, Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-30 IRI2679T-T97493 · Intercap Registry Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-30 LFGL2683T-T87058 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-30 NA2631T-T14537 · Registry Services, LLC · replacement string of .agi · Deactivated NSL2674T-T89586 · NAME SPACE LLC · primary · contention set 2026-30 OI2692T-T35282 · Oinkadot Inc · replacement string of .spice · Deactivated XL2625T-T74748 · XYZ.COM LLC · replacement string of .plan · Deactivated”ICANN
“For us, moving into the registry side is a natural extension of what we have been building.”Domain Name Wire
“We are thrilled by the opportunity to help expand the domain name space with innovative new alternatives.”Domain Name Wire
“.brain · Lifestyle · “Where everything comes together.””Link Freedom Group
- Band 10-29 (upper end): .brain is a memorable single English word with genuine but shallow pockets of demand. It is not in the 30-49 band because sustained volume registrations are unlikely without heavy discounting; the brand signal reads as novelty or meme (big.brain, galaxy.brain) rather than professional, and the natural serious buyers, neurotech, BCI, and AI companies, already gravitate to established namespaces by analogy with how the AI sector consolidated on .ai rather than adopting adjacent word-TLDs. It is not in the 1-9 band because a real registrant base plausibly exists across neurotech, brain-training, mental wellness, and internet-culture vanity use over the next 5 years. The applicant is a portfolio filer (LFG filed more than 300 strings in the 2026 round, the round's largest applicant, per its published catalog and Domain Name Wire, 2026-08-13), and its catalog files this string under Lifestyle with the tagline 'Where everything comes together', a generic positioning that suggests broad speculative coverage rather than a category-specific registry push; that is a neutral fact I weigh only toward modest expected marketing focus. Main market uncertainty: whether the growing neurotech/BCI sector treats a body-part word TLD as credible identity or as a gimmick, and whether meme-driven demand converts to renewals rather than one-cycle registrations, as novelty word-TLDs have tended to see by analogy (registration spikes followed by attrition; specific figures unknown).