ICANN receives 1,615 TLD applications from 481 applicants; Meta, OpenAI, and eight others applied for .agent, seven companies applied for .agi, and six for .asi (David Pierce/The Verge)

ICANN’s latest round of top-level domain applications shows major tech and AI players treating domain names as a strategic asset, with applications centered on AI-related TLDs like .agent, .agi, and .asi. For CIOs and technology leaders, this signals a coming shift in digital branding, trust, and online identity management, where IT organizations may need to coordinate closely with legal, security, and communications teams to protect brands, plan for new web properties, and manage future naming and governance risks.