From .ai to .si: How Trump’s “Super Intelligence” Sparked a Boom for Slovenia’s Domain Extension in 2026
Since US President Donald Trump decided to rename artificial intelligence “Super Intelligence”, domain investors and companies have been rushing to register Slovenia’s country-code extension .si. According to the Slovenian registry Register.si, 21,756 new .si domains were registered on October 5 alone, around 170 times as many as on an average September day before the hype. Since September 22, .si has even been ahead of .ai in daily new registrations.
Last updated: October 15, 2026. We update the figures in this article regularly; the date of the latest update is always shown here.
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What happened?
- September 19, 2026: On Truth Social, Trump asks whether “Artificial Intelligence” should be renamed, arguing that the word “artificial” makes the technology sound wrong.
- September 22, 2026: Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Trump announces that the US government will refer to AI as “Super Intelligence”, or SI for short.
- September 29, 2026: Trump signs the executive order “Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence”. All federal agencies are to use the terms “Super Intelligence” and “SI” with immediate effect.
SI also happens to be the country code of Slovenia, the home country of First Lady Melania Trump. A domain like superintelligence.si suddenly looks as obvious as an .ai address did a few years ago.
The backstory: investors arrived as early as May
Trump did not create the trend, he accelerated it. According to domainnamestat.com, 8,194 new .si domains were registered back in May 2026, around three times as many as in a normal month. On May 11 alone, 2,019 domains were added. Investors were already betting that “SI” would become the abbreviation for superintelligence.
The most prominent example came from Recursive, an AI company focused on superintelligence: according to Domain Name Wire, it bought recursive.si for US$20,000. But that remained the exception. Of 35 publicly documented .si sales in the first half of 2026, only two went to companies that use the domain themselves. The rest went to investors.
The numbers: .si overtakes .ai
- Before: From September 1 to 18, an average of around 130 new .si domains were registered per day, according to Register.si (2,310 in 18 days).
- After: From September 19 to 30, 43,756 new .si domains were registered, followed by another 173,204 from October 1 to 14. The total grew from around 191,000 at the end of August to 410,631 (as of October 15), an increase of 115%.
- Two waves, then a record: After the UN speech on September 22, registrations climbed to 4,478 on September 23. The executive order of September 29 triggered a second, bigger wave: 11,331 on September 30 and 12,728 on October 1. October 5 brought the record so far, with 21,756 new .si domains in a single day. Numbers have declined since, most recently to around 7,000 per day. That is still more than 50 times as many as on a normal September day before the hype.
- Compared with .ai: As there are no official daily figures for .ai, we compare both extensions using the same source, domainnamestat.com: from September 22 to October 9, 141,737 new .si domains were registered, but only 28,623 new .ai domains. That is around five times as many. Since September 22, .si has been ahead of .ai every single day. domainnamestat.com records fewer .si registrations than the registry, so the real gap is likely even larger.
- Month on month: According to Register.si, 46,066 .si domains were registered in September, compared with 3,515 in the whole of August. That is 13 times as many. In October, another 173,204 were added by the 14th alone, almost four times as many as in the whole of September.
- Official registry figure: Register.si counted 410,631 .si domains on October 15 and now publishes daily registration figures on its own website. domainnamestat.com counts 401,008.
34 years vs. 23 days: how fast .si has grown
A simple comparison shows how extraordinary the rush is: in the 34 years since Slovenia received the .si extension in 1992, 190,719 .si domains had accumulated by the end of August 2026, according to Register.si. From September 19, the day of Trump’s question on Truth Social, it took just 23 days for the same number of new domains to be registered. By October 11, new registrations added up to 195,663, and by October 14 to 216,960.
The animation shows the race day by day. The counter at the top adds up all new .si domains since September 19, and the bar next to it fills up to the total reached after 34 years.
The full timeline since 1992 shows how steep this rise is compared with the entire history of .si. The chart is based on domainnamestat.com and counts only domains that are still registered today, by their registration date. That is why its figures differ from the registry’s. The trend is still unmistakable: 34 years of slow growth, then an increase of 73% in 45 days.
Who is buying? Mostly investors
The rush has all the hallmarks of a speculative wave. According to domainnamestat.com, US registrar Dynadot now manages 70,482 .si domains, or 17.6% of all .si addresses. Netcraft found that around 52% of the .si domains registered through Dynadot between September 19 and 22 were listed for resale shortly afterwards, including names such as donaldjtrump.si and superintell.si. On the aftermarket, sellers are asking for millions, according to Siol.net: US$10 million for build.si and US$8 million for seed.si.
There is also a practical advantage: according to registrars, .si domains are open to anyone worldwide, with no residency or local presence in Slovenia required, and they can be registered for a single year. An .ai domain, by contrast, requires a minimum term of two years.
Anyone buying a .si domain from an investor should know one thing about the transfer: once the domain has been moved to the new holder, the registry Register.si sends the previous holder a confirmation. According to Domain Name Wire, it includes the buyer’s postal address and email address. The seller therefore learns who bought the domain and where they live. Private buyers should be aware of this before they buy, and companies are best off using their business address.
The dark side: .si as a gateway for phishing
The boom comes with a security risk that few people have on their radar: on the keyboard, the “s” sits right next to the “a”. A .si address is therefore just one typo away from the .ai address of a well-known AI service. Netcraft warns that criminals could register exactly these kinds of lookalikes.
- Duplicate names: According to Netcraft, more than 44,000 registered .si domains share their name with an existing .ai domain, which is 22% of all .si addresses. Around 1,500 of these pairs even run on the same IP address.
- Suspicious terms: Among the new .si names registered in the week of September 21 to 27, security teams found 37 domains containing “bank”, 119 containing “pay” and 16 containing “gov” (abtdomain).
- Brand names: Addresses such as boeing.si and donaldjtrump.si, registered by third parties, are already up for sale.
Actual fraud on .si is still rare. But if “SI” catches on as a term, Netcraft expects cybercrime under the extension to rise.
What does Slovenia say?
The national registry Register.si, operated by the Slovenian academic and research network Arnes, confirms the rush but is dampening the euphoria. Spokesperson Klara Herman told AFP that interest in using the .si domain has risen strongly but steadily since the speech.
At the same time, Register.si has pushed back against reports of a windfall. Revenue per domain is low, so media speculation about Slovenia making millions from the increased interest in .si has no real basis, the registry told 24ur.com. It added that it will monitor operations closely and take action if needed to ensure they are not disrupted.
Register.si has a clear message for businesses: owners of trademarks and company names should register their .si domain as soon as possible.
Why Slovenia won’t become the next Anguilla: Domain Name Wire estimates the registry’s additional revenue from September at around €300,000. Anguilla, by contrast, earns tens of millions from .ai, because the Caribbean island charges higher prices and has spent years turning its extension into a global brand.
Note for editors: No statement from the Slovenian government was available as of the update on October 15, 2026.
The role model: how .ai made Anguilla rich
Anguilla shows what a domain extension can trigger. Almost half of the small Caribbean island’s government revenue now comes from the .ai extension. The global AI boom has turned Anguilla into an unexpected winner.
| Year | Registered .ai domains | Revenue from .ai | Share of government revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.48 million (end of September) | US$14.1 million in March alone | |
| 2025 | over 1 million (by November) | US$85.3 million | 47% |
| 2024 | 570,000 | ||
| 2022 | 144,000 | US$7.7 million | 6% |
| 2018 | 48,000 | US$2.9 million | under 1% |
Sources: Government of Anguilla, Domaintechnik analysis, domainnamestat.com for 2026.
- Over 2,000% growth in registrations since 2018.
- 28% of all newly founded tech start-ups now use an .ai domain.
- Where the money goes: Anguilla uses it to fund, among other things, its airport expansion, debt repayment, green energy and nature conservation.
- The 47% comes from Anguilla’s technology minister Jose Vanterpool, who told the BBC in September 2025 that the extension would bring in around 47% of national revenue (Anguilla Focus).
As an accredited .ai registrar, Domaintechnik has compiled detailed figures on the development up to 2026 in the analysis “The .ai Domain Boom: How Anguilla Became an AI Winner”.
The difference with .si: Anguilla benefits from a term used all over the world. Whether “SI” will catch on beyond US federal agencies remains to be seen. That will determine whether .si becomes a lasting tech extension or a short-lived hype.
Accidental winners of the internet: when two letters become a brand
Slovenia would not be the first country whose code suddenly takes on a second meaning. The best-known cases at a glance:
| Extension | Country | Domains (Sept. 2026) | Why it is in demand | What it brings the country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .co | Colombia | 7.64 million | short for “company”, alternative to .com | largest of the extensions listed here, revenue not publicly disclosed |
| .me | Montenegro | 2.67 million | personal sites and short links such as t.me (Telegram) or m.me (Messenger) | in 2008 the fastest-growing extension in history |
| .io | British Indian Ocean Territory | 2.02 million | “input/output”, standard for tech start-ups | around US$7 million per year, future uncertain after the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius |
| .ai | Anguilla | 1.48 million | “artificial intelligence” | 47% of government revenue |
| .tv | Tuvalu | 0.84 million | “television”, streaming and Twitch | US$10 million per year from its contract with GoDaddy since 2021 |
| .si | Slovenia | 0.26 million | new: “Super Intelligence” | not a million-euro business, according to the registry |
Domain counts: domainnamestat.com, September 30, 2026. Revenue: Wikipedia .tv, Wikipedia .io, Wikipedia .me.
Domaintechnik’s assessment
“Since September 19, we have seen customers from Austria and Germany asking specifically for .si, not because of Slovenia, but because of superintelligence. The last time we saw anything like this was the .ai boom. The difference: Anguilla needed years, .si took hours. Anyone who owns a brand should secure the .si address now, for security reasons too. A single typo from .ai to .si is enough to send customers to someone else’s site.” Fabian Ledl, Domaintechnik
What brand owners should do now
- Check your brand: Is yourbrand.si still available? If so, register it now. Register.si explicitly recommends this.
- Protect your .ai address: If your product runs on an .ai domain, the matching .si name is the most obvious typo domain. Registering it keeps it out of the hands of phishers.
- Don’t panic-buy: Million-dollar prices on the aftermarket are asking prices, not actual sales.
- Monitor for abuse: Check whether anyone has registered your brand under .si, and alert employees to .si lookalikes of well-known .ai services.
- Know your options in disputes: If you find your brand as a .si domain in someone else’s hands, you can use the dispute resolution procedure of Register.si.
Frequently asked questions about .si domains
Why is .si suddenly in demand?
Because Donald Trump has renamed artificial intelligence “Super Intelligence” (SI). The .si extension, actually the country code of Slovenia, now reads like an AI address.
How many .si domains are there?
According to Register.si 410,631, according to domainnamestat.com 401,008 (as of October 15, 2026). The counting methods differ.
Who can register a .si domain?
Anyone, worldwide. No residence or company presence in Slovenia is required. .si domains are registered through more than 90 Slovenian and international registrars, including Domaintechnik.
How much does a .si domain cost?
Register.si charges all registrars the same registration fee of €10. What domain holders pay in the end depends on the registrar.
Where can I register a .si domain?
With any accredited .si registrar. Domaintechnik, an ICANN-accredited registrar based in Austria, offers .si domains, and all of its servers are located in Austria.
What should I look for when choosing a .si registrar?
Key criteria are ICANN accreditation, transparent prices including renewals, support you can actually reach and genuine, verified customer reviews. Domaintechnik is ICANN-accredited, has been certified by Trusted Shops since 2016 and has received the Excellent Shop Award for ten years.
Will .si become the new .ai?
That depends on whether “SI” catches on as a term beyond the US government. So far, the rush is mainly driven by investors.
Conclusion
A UN speech and an executive order have more than doubled the number of .si domains in just over three weeks and put .si ahead of .ai every day. Whether this will make Slovenia a second Anguilla remains to be seen. For brand owners, however, the situation is clear: if you need .si, act now.
About Domaintechnik
Domaintechnik is a registered trademark of Ledl.net GmbH & Co. KG, based in Straßwalchen, Salzburg (Austria). The company has been active in domains and hosting since 1999, is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar and serves more than 40,000 customers. All of its servers are located in Austria. Domaintechnik offers domains in 632 extensions, including .si and .ai.
Press contact: Fabian Ledl, Digital Communications, presse@domaintechnik.at
Sources
- domainnamestat.com: .si statistics and .ai statistics, retrieved October 15, 2026
- Register.si: daily registrations and total number of domains, retrieved October 15, 2026
- Register.si: number of .si domains passes 200,000 (registration fee)
- The White House: Fact Sheet “Inaugurating The Era of Super Intelligence”
- Euronews: Klara Herman, Register.si
- 24ur.com: statement by Register.si
- Siol.net: aftermarket prices
- Netcraft: Dynadot analysis and security risks
- Domain Name Wire: September revenue estimate
- Domain Name Wire: who is buying .si domains (June 2026)
- Domain Name Wire: privacy issue when buying or selling a .si domain
- abtdomain: Domain Market Intelligence Weekly
- Anguilla Focus: Vanterpool to the BBC
- Domaintechnik: The .ai Domain Boom
- Wikipedia: .tv, .io, .me
