‍The Rise of Non-Traditional Domains in Tech Startups

In today's startup ecosystem, domain strategy has evolved into a core component of brand identity and competitive differentiation. As competition for .com domains intensifies and availability declines, tech startups are turning to non-traditional top-level domains (nTLDs) like .ai, .io, .pro, and .global to secure memorable and relevant digital identities.
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Traditional TLDs in Decline, nTLDs on the Rise

A comprehensive analysis of over 4,000 startups from Y Combinator and Techstars (2020–2025 YTD) reveals that:

• nTLD usage has grown 50% in the past five years
• Legacy TLDs, including .com, declined 28%
• By the first half of 2025, 54% of startups used nTLDs for their primary domain
• 2025 trends indicate nTLDs will surpass .com in usage among tech startups

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‍‍This growing trend is reinforced by Identity Digital's Q2 2025 data, which shows that startups and premium buyers are actively investing in nTLDs like .pro, .info, and .global due to their versatility and availability. For recent Y Combinator startup, Zero, they chose the .email nTLD due to availability and direct alignment with their AI-powered email startup.
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.ai Surging Past .io and Other Tech-Related TLDs

Tech startups are adopting industry-relevant TLDs:

• .ai usage jumped 300% from 2020 to June 2025
• 28% of startups chose .ai by the first half of 2025, an increase of 7% from 2024
• Current 2025 data indicates this trend will continue to grow

This dramatic pivot illustrates how startups are strategically using domain extensions to align their branding with technological innovation.

Recent graduates of Techstars and Y Combinator, such as axal.ai, mercura.ai, calltree.ai, wellnify.ai, and timesentry.ai, have embraced this pivot to .ai domains.
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Addressing Brand Domain Scarcity

As desirable .com names become harder to secure, only 54% of .com domains include the brand name alone, compared to 85% for nTLDs.

The long-standing preference for .com domains has led to intense competition, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the availability of exact brand name second-level domains (SLDs), the content that appears to the left of the dot. Startups are increasingly forced to adopt variations or alternative SLDs, diluting brand consistency.
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While brand domain availability is also declining across non-.com TLDs, the rate of decrease is comparatively slower. This indicates greater flexibility and potential for startups to secure closer brand matches within alternative extensions, offering a strategic advantage. According to entrepreneur Amit Bakshi, founder and CEO of SelfActualize.ai which will soon rebrand to WingRep.ai, ".com is so crowded" and "investors aren't worried" about choosing a non- .com.

Key statistics reveal the disparity:

• On average, startups using alternative TLDs secured their exact match brand name 88% of the time
• Startups using an nTLD have a 57% increased chance of getting their brand name in a domain compared to .com

The increasing difficulty in securing exact brand name SLDs presents significant brand identity challenges for startups. Companies must adapt by exploring creative domain strategies, including hyphenation, keyword integration, or embracing less conventional TLDs to maintain a strong online presence.

Additional trends show:

• SLDs with verbs increased 67% between 2020 and June 2025
• 85% of nTLD users use only their brand name in the SLD (versus 54% for .com), showing greater availability in nTLDs

For founders who are keen on using .com, the growing trend has been to adopt a new domain structure: verb + brand name. Recent Y Combinator graduates like getbluebook.com, tryoperand.com, startpinch.com, and usemesh.com have employed this approach. The jury is still out on whether action verbs will help or hinder trust and brand recognition.
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‍Prioritizing Funding to Build

A company name is often the first introduction investors see when meeting with founders. Spending a significant portion of startup capital on acquiring a premium .com domain can be a risky allocation of resources.

A notable example is a startup that raised $2.5 million and allocated $1.8 million to purchase the domain friend.com.  This decision attracted criticism from the tech community, with many viewing it as a misallocation of funds. Critics argued that such an investment in a domain name could have been better spent on product development, user acquisition, or other growth strategies. The assumption that a premium domain would significantly reduce marketing costs was challenged, as building brand recognition typically requires substantial effort regardless of the domain name.

This case underscores the importance for startups to carefully consider the return on investment when allocating funds, especially in the early stages where resources are limited and strategic spending is crucial for survival and growth.
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Conclusion

The startup world is rapidly moving beyond .com. Data from both incubator programs and domain sales trends confirm that modern startups prioritize flexibility, availability, and branding alignment when choosing domain names. Non-traditional domains are no longer niche - they're becoming the new standard.

Whether it's .ai for innovation, .pro for professionalism, or .global for international scale, startups are using nTLDs not just to claim a name but to make a statement.
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¹ AI ‘Friend’ Company Spent $1.8 Million and Most of Its Funds on Domain Name‍