.gen

The mission and purpose of the applied-for .gen gTLD is to provide a short, versatile namespace built around the word element "gen" and its several established meanings: generation, as in next-gen products and the everyday names for demographic generations; generating and creating, as in tools and services that generate text, images, designs, and code, and as in the generation of power and energy; and genetics, the field of study and the growing sector of services built on it. Few short strings carry this many independent, well-understood meanings, which gives .gen relevance across unrelated sectors and audiences. Intended registrants include technology companies building generative and creative tools and platforms, businesses and brands positioning products and services as next-generation, media, community, and marketing ventures aimed at particular generations, energy companies and projects involved in power generation, including renewable generation, genetics, biotech, and life-science services, and businesses and individuals forming short combined names in which "gen" works naturally as a prefix or suffix. Registrations may be used for product and platform identities for generative tools, brand and campaign sites for next-generation offerings, generational media and community presences, energy project and provider identities, genetics and biotech service sites, and short personal or company addresses. The purpose is sustainable because the string's meanings are independent of one another and anchored in durable sectors: new generations of people, products, and technologies arrive continuously by definition, energy generation and genetics are long-established and growing industries, and the creation of tools and content is a constant activity, so no single trend carries the TLD, and together these uses support a broad and continually replenishing base of legitimate registrants over time.

Mission and Purpose Gen Digital Inc. is applying for the .gen top-level domain as a dotBrand TLD under Specification 13 of the Registry Agreement. The mission of .gen is to serve as a dedicated, trusted namespace for Gen Digital Inc. and its affiliates, a controlled digital environment that reflects the Gen brand and supports the full range of Gen Digital's business activities, from internal operations to customer-facing services. The intended registrants of .gen are consistent with Specification 13's requirements. Gen Digital's internal policies will govern the use of .gen and will remain tightly controlled to protect the integrity and trust associated with the Gen brand. Gen Digital intends to deploy .gen across a range of use cases, including internal corporate infrastructure as well as customer-facing sites and services supporting its cybersecurity and digital safety product portfolio and the broader Gen Digital ecosystem. The .gen namespace will enable Gen Digital to organize, authenticate, and present its digital presence under a single, recognizable, brand-controlled TLD, enhancing trust and reducing the risk of phishing, impersonation, and namespace confusion that can arise under generic TLDs. Sustainability Over Time The .gen TLD is designed to be a long-term strategic asset for Gen Digital. Gen Digital is a well-established company with a stable financial profile and long-standing operations in the cybersecurity and digital safety sector. The ongoing operational costs of maintaining a dotBrand TLD are well within Gen Digital's organizational capacity, and Gen Digital has the technical infrastructure and vendor relationships necessary to support registry operations in compliance with ICANN's requirements. Because .gen will function as a closed, single-registrant TLD under Specification 13, it does not depend on third-party registration revenue for sustainability. The TLD's value is derived from its role within Gen Digital's broader business, not from commercial registration activity. Gen Digital views .gen as a living asset whose specific use cases will develop over time, while remaining anchored to the Gen brand and subject to Specification 13's requirements throughout the term of the Registry Agreement.

The mission of .GEN is to provide a namespace associated with the applied-for string. The .GEN gTLD is intended to serve a broad range of registrants and users, including individuals, businesses, organizations, communities, projects, and other entities that identify with, relate to, or wish to be associated with the concept represented by the applied-for string. The purpose of .GEN is to enable registrants to establish online identities using domain names that correspond to this concept. To achieve this purpose, Heir Superiority, LLC will make .GEN available for registration through registrars and other appropriate distribution channels; maintain a secure, stable, and reliable registry infrastructure; implement registration and operational policies that support the availability, security, and integrity of the namespace; and provide ongoing administration of the gTLD to enable registrants to register and use domain names within the namespace. The purpose of .GEN is sustainable over time because the applied-for string is broadly recognized and has broad applicability across a wide range of contexts. As society, technology, and methods of communication evolve, organizations and individuals will continue to establish online identities associated with the applied-for string.

The .gen gTLD will provide a short, globally pronounceable, semantically rich namespace for brands, creators, and businesses. "Gen" carries layered meaning across languages and audiences: generations, including the demographic identities and "next-generation" branding that renew with every cohort; the generative technologies reshaping software and media; genomics and the life sciences; and the universal sense of origin and creation (genesis, generate). This breadth makes .gen a durable, general-purpose brandable domain rather than a single-trend string, suitable for startups, consumer brands, demographic-focused media and communities, biotech ventures, and AI-era products alike. The TLD will operate as an open registry with accessible standard pricing, multi-year registration options, and a premium program for high-value labels. The applicant group's retail channel provides immediate distribution to the audience of new website creators and small businesses that short brandable TLDs serve best, with additional distribution through ICANN-accredited registrars on non-discriminatory terms. The registry will benefit Internet users by expanding the supply of short, memorable, meaningful names, a resource effectively exhausted in legacy TLDs. This purpose is sustainable over time: each meaning of "gen" renews independently, as new generations are named every decade and new technologies and ventures continually adopt the prefix, providing a registrant base that does not depend on any single trend.

Link Freedom Group (LFG) aspires to become a best-in-class, vertically integrated domain name registration authority, see linkfreedomgroup.link. This TLD is part of a carefully curated portfolio of strings that LFG intends to pursue in ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Program. In assembling this portfolio, LFG focused on securing meaningful, memorable, and commercially compelling strings that resonate strongly with end users and offer long-term growth potential. Over the past four years, LFG (Nova Registry) has successfully grown its flagship TLD, .LINK, from approximately 125,000 to more than 300,000 domains under management. This growth has been driven by innovative distribution strategies, the expansion of registrar partnerships, and a granular pricing model that has enabled .LINK to remain competitively priced while avoiding the significant fee increases implemented by some other registry operators. LFG’s experience in the domain name industry has reinforced one of the key lessons from the 2012 application round: long-term sustainability is strengthened through portfolio diversification. By spreading operational costs and mitigating revenue fluctuations across multiple TLDs, LFG is better positioned to withstand market volatility and invest in continued growth. Accordingly, LFG believes that even obtaining a subset of the TLDs for which it has applied will establish a diversified portfolio capable of supporting long-term economic stability, operational resilience, and sustainable growth.

1. Mission and purpose. This gTLD will be operated as an open, unrestricted generic top-level domain. Its purpose is to expand naming choice in the DNS by making this term available at the top level for any lawful use chosen by the registrant. Registrations will be available to all registrants on a first-come, first-served basis through ICANN-accredited registrars, subject only to the Registry Agreement, ICANN Consensus Policies, and applicable law. The applicant will not operate this gTLD on an exclusive basis. 2. Intended registrants and users. Intended registrants are individuals, businesses, and other organizations worldwide seeking a short, meaningful domain name. There are no eligibility or name selection restrictions beyond those required by the Registry Agreement, ICANN Consensus Policies, and applicable law. Intended users are internet users worldwide who access domain names registered in this gTLD. 3. Related activities. The applicant is an established registry operator under contract with ICANN for 35 gTLDs, including .xyz. It has in place a qualified Registry Service Provider, distribution agreements with ICANN-accredited registrars across multiple regions, and all required rights protection mechanisms and DNS abuse mitigation practices. For this gTLD the applicant will onboard the TLD to its existing registry platform, conduct a Sunrise Period and Trademark Claims Period, launch General Availability through its registrar channel, and maintain ongoing registrar enablement, abuse monitoring, and compliance reporting. 4. Sustainability. Operation is funded by recurring registration and renewal revenue and does not depend on any single registrant, sector, or campaign. This gTLD will run on the applicant's existing shared registry infrastructure, so incremental operating cost is low and no minimum registration volume is required for viability. The applicant has operated gTLDs continuously since 2014.