.lab

Is .lab a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?

AI & tech
applicants
  • Starlight RegistryAnnounced
on the record since Aug 19, 2026 · updated Aug 19, 2026
AI score
55/ 100
Strong niche

A crisp word for research, AI, and innovation teams; real niche appeal, though most brands say "labs," not "lab."

assessed by claude-fable-5 · Aug 19, 2026
AI score 55 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.
who it’s for

tech and AI startups, research groups, university and corporate innovation teams, and makers who brand projects as a "lab" and want a short, evocative primary address

techaiBrandCulture
applicants
1 on file
Starlight RegistryAnnounced
Aug 19, 2026

One of 40 strings Starlight Registry (established by registrar Namecheap) applied for in the ICANN 2026 round, reported by Domain Name Wire on 2026-08-19.

closest 2012 bets
3 of 1,408

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.

.studiostrong parallel
delegated 2015 · live

Same bet: a short, generic English workplace noun that doubles as a self-applied brand suffix, sold to any small outfit that already calls itself one, so it wins only if the naming habit ('X Studio' / 'X Labs') is strong enough to pull primary identity off .com.

2 applicants contested it · scored 50* in 2012 · run by Spring Goodbye, LLC

.clinicmoderate
delegated 2014 · live

Same bet on a facility noun with a credentialed, semi-professional connotation — the registry is selling the implied legitimacy of the place-word, and needs practitioners rather than consumers to register.

uncontested · scored 45* in 2012 · run by Goose Park, LLC

.institutemoderate
delegated 2013 · live

Same bet on a research-organization noun aimed at bodies whose whole identity is the word itself, but the buyer pool skews to conservative institutions with entrenched .org/.edu addresses, which is the same ceiling .lab faces on its scientific side.

uncontested · scored 30* in 2012 · run by Outer Maple, LLC

* A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year. Different scale from this page’s score — the two are not comparable.

history
  1. Starlight Registry · first recordedAug 19, 2026
    Domain Name Wire
news & sources
NewsNamecheap's Starlight Registry applies for 40 TLDs
Aug 19, 2026
For us, moving into the registry side is a natural extension of what we have been building.
Domain Name Wire
Considering a name on .lab?Appraise a name on this TLD →

This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.