.neo
Is .neo a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.neo is contested: 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are XYZ Registry, Neo and Radix. Identity Digital named .neo as a backup string for its .self application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .neo as a backup string for its .max application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Link Freedom Group named .neo as a backup string for its .stock application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
Who is applying, and what they run today
Two of the three already run TLDs, 22.38M names between them. Neo runs none.
Will names sell?
A sleek 'new and modern' suffix some startups may enjoy, but with no clear category it stays a stylish niche pick, not a standard.
Last round the AI scored the 2012 strings blind to their fate. Strings it scored 60 or more hold a median 27,168 names today; those under 30, a median of 30. .neo’s closest 2012 strings hold .new 2K, .next 19 and .now 27K.
The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today
The closest 2012 string, .new, held 2,233 names, June 2026. .next held 19; .now held 27,481. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet in plain English rather than Greek: a short, non-category modifier sold purely on the connotation of newness, with no defined registrant class, monetized by anyone wanting a fresh-start identity or a prefix-style construction.
Also a bound-feeling futurity modifier rather than a category noun, betting that buyers pay for the implied posture (forward, modern) instead of for membership in an industry, though it reads slightly more corporate-successor than coined.
Another abstract three-letter adverbial with no inherent vertical, whose value depends entirely on a registry manufacturing meaning through phrase-building and premium sales, the same speculative dynamic .neo faces.
Where they meet elsewhere
Identity Digital and XYZ Registry face each other in 77 contests this round, .neo included.
- Identity Digital × XYZ Registry
- Identity Digital × Link Freedom Group
- XYZ Registry × Link Freedom Group
- Identity Digital × Radix
- Link Freedom Group × Radix
early-stage tech and AI startups wanting a short, futuristic-sounding brand suffix, plus tech-culture buyers drawn to the 'neo' motif of renewal and reinvention
What a .neo domain is
.neo is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our AI & tech category. 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .neo domain extension real yet?
.neo 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 .neo domain?
You can’t yet. A .neo name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .neo was .new, delegated on 30 August 2014.
Is .neo a real TLD?
Not yet. .neo is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .neo is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Identity Digital · first recordedICANN
- ShortDot · now deactivated backupICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now deactivated backupICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now abandonedICANN
- ShortDot · now abandonedICANN
- 2 applicants · first recordedICANN
- Radix · now confirmedICANN
- ShortDot · now announced
- ShortDot · first recordedShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Radix · first recordedRadix
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
The source’s 6 linesHide the lines
CIL2643T-T64192 · C&G INFINITE LIMITED · primary · contention set 2026-162 LFGL2683T-T32254 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · replacement string of .stock · Deactivated NA2626T-T72994 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .max · Deactivated RTIS2674T-T18686 · Radix Technologies Inc SEZC · primary · contention set 2026-162 TT2652T-T17553 · Toddler Logic, LLC · replacement string of .self · Deactivated XL2625T-T93477 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-162
“CIL2643T-T64192 · C&G INFINITE LIMITED · primary · contention set 2026-162 RTIS2674T-T18686 · Radix Technologies Inc SEZC · primary · contention set 2026-162 XL2625T-T93477 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-162”ICANN
“ShortDot (Ireland) Limited has submitted 40 applications to ICANN's 2026 New gTLD Program. The 80 strings shown include applied-for and designated replacement strings across ShortDot's 40 ICANN applications, presented without revealing their status or pairing.”ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
“Radix has applied for these TLDs; we do not own or operate them today.”Radix
“.neo · AI & Tech · “Modern by nature.””Link Freedom Group
- Band: usable but limited (30-49). The string is short, pronounceable across languages, and carries a positive 'new/modern' connotation, which makes it plausible as a brand suffix for tech and AI startups; the applicant's own catalog positions it as AI & Tech with the tagline 'Modern by nature.'. But 'neo' is a prefix in natural language, not a category noun, so an address like brand.neo requires explanation and does not signal what the project does, which caps end-use utility and keeps the aftermarket thin. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no identifiable buyer group for whom .neo is the expected home and no evidence of sustained demand for the string as a namespace; adoption would rest purely on vibe. It is not in the 10-29 band because the string is a serious, dignified word-fragment rather than a joke, and by analogy with other short vibe suffixes it can plausibly attract genuine primary-identity use among design-forward startups rather than only novelty registrations. The applicant is one operator among a very large portfolio of filed strings, which suggests marketing attention per string may be spread thin, tempering adoption likelihood; that is stated neutrally from the verified facts. Main market uncertainty: whether the 'modern' aesthetic converts into real primary-identity adoption by funded startups, or whether .neo registrations skew defensive and vanity with weak renewal behavior, as has happened by analogy with many adjective-flavored new gTLDs whose launch-spike demand faded once the novelty passed. Numbers for any comparable TLD's volumes or renewals are unknown, so this is reasoned qualitatively from analogy.