OpenClaw seeks .claw domain from ICANN
According to the published application data, the AI foundation is among the organisations seeking to manage a new internet suffix.
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OpenClaw has submitted an application for the .claw top-level domain, the organisation behind the open-source AI reports on its own website. The application does not mean that the domain will be awarded or can be used soon.
ICANN, the organisation that coordinates the global domain name system, published the applications from the new round for generic top-level domains on 7 October. According to ICANN, there are 1,615 applications in total. A top-level domain is the part after the final dot in a web address, such as .com, .org or .nl.
OpenClaw presents itself as an independent foundation centred on an open-source personal AI assistant. The foundation says that thousands of contributors are working on the project and that no separate company controls OpenClaw. The application for .claw fits that effort to give the project its own recognisable digital space.
At this stage, an application is primarily a claim on a possible internet extension. ICANN first assesses whether applications meet the administrative and technical requirements. If multiple parties apply for the same extension, procedures for competing applications may follow. The public list records statuses for the applications that may still change.
That means .claw is not the same as an active domain. For now, users cannot automatically register addresses based on the extension. ICANN writes that only after the assessment and confirmation steps will it become clear which applications qualify to establish a registry.
The new round is the first major expansion of generic domains since 2012. ICANN says that 864 applications came from North America, 506 from Europe and 218 from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Alongside brand names and technical terms, applications have also been submitted relating to communities, products and digital services.
For OpenClaw, the application is primarily a positioning choice. An own extension can offer recognisability and control over web addresses, but also entails costs, technical obligations and security risks. The foundation must also still show that its application passes the ICANN procedure. The public application file for .claw could not be read directly in the text view of the ICANN database; the status of this specific file therefore remains only partially confirmed for now.
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The general ICANN procedure and the number of applications were directly confirmed. The specific link between OpenClaw and .claw was reported only by a source affiliated with OpenClaw and is therefore phrased cautiously.
- confirmed ICANN published the applications from the new round on 7 October 2026. — ICANN names 7 October 2026 as the date of Reveal Day. source
- confirmed ICANN received 1,615 applications. — This is stated in ICANN’s official data snapshot. source
- confirmed OpenClaw is an independent foundation centred on open-source AI. — The organisation’s own website describes the foundation and project in these terms. source
- uncertain OpenClaw submitted an application for .claw. — The claim appears in an OpenClaw-related publication; the specific record could not be independently retrieved from the text view of the official database. source
- confirmed An application is not yet an awarded active domain. — ICANN describes the published records as applications that are still being assessed by the programme. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: OpenClaw seeks ICANN’s approval for the .claw domainNow: OpenClaw says it has asked ICANN for the .claw domain (The specific application could not be independently confirmed from the text view of the official ICANN database.)
Editor's note
ICANN confirms the publication of all applications, and OpenClaw confirms its foundation and project. The exact .claw record could not be independently retrieved from the text view of the ICANN database; in any event, the award is not yet final.Sources
- Press Release: ICANN Reveals Applications for 2026 Round of New Generic Top-Level Domains — ICANN
- Applications: New gTLD Program 2026 Round — ICANN
- OpenClaw Foundation — OpenClaw Foundation
- OpenClaw's own .claw domain is coming — OneClickClaw News
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „openclaw icann”
- FD — „openclaw icann”
- Trouw — „openclaw icann”