Insider Claims Hit the .si Rush: What Buyers Should Check

AI summary

Journalist Adam Cochran alleges insiders profited from advance knowledge of the AI-to-SI rebrand, pointing to more than 10,000 AI-related .si registrations in recent months.
The White House and Slovenia's registry deny wrongdoing, and no purchases have been tied directly to Trump or his associates.
AI.si is listed for at least $700,000 and some .si names have reportedly sold for more than $1 million, but an asking price isn't a sale.
Private Whois data means you often can't see who owns a .si name, so use escrow and stick to generic words.
Most .si names are speculation: buy one only if the .com and .ai are taken or expensive, the words are generic and people search for them.

What Adam Cochran is alleging

The newest turn in the .si story isn't about another renamed company. It's about who got to the names first. Absolute Geeks reported on 6 October that independent journalist Adam Cochran has alleged insiders profited from advance knowledge of the AI-to-SI rebrand.

His argument rests on timing. PCMag Middle East quotes him: "For the last few months, [people] have registered more than 10,000 AI-related terms. Many of which are now listed for sale for MILLIONS."

He also pointed to 1776.si and a batch of other pro-US and pro-MAGA names. He says they were registered on the same day as thousands of AI-related terms, 53 days before his post. Absolute Geeks says that was weeks before the announcement.

For reference, Mezha reports that Trump first used the term at the 81st UN General Assembly on 22 September and signed Executive Order No. 14434 on 29 September.

What's been denied, and what isn't proven

I'll be careful here, because these are allegations, not findings. PCMag, citing Snopes, says the White House and Register.si have denied any wrongdoing. Absolute Geeks says the allegations "remain unproven" and that no purchases have been directly tied to Trump or his associates.

Part of the reason nobody can settle it is that ownership is hard to see. Cochran noted that "DynaDot (the largest bulk registrar for .si domains) keeps Whois information private on registration." He added that some of the DNS records resolve to bulk domain squatters.

So here's what's clear: according to Cochran, a lot of AI-related .si names were registered in bulk in recent months, and many are now for sale. What isn't clear is who holds them, and that's a question you can't answer with a Whois lookup.

The prices now on the table

Money is changing hands, or at least being asked for. PCMag reports that AI.si is on sale for at least $700,000, and Absolute Geeks says some .si domains have reportedly sold for more than $1 million. PCMag itself notes these are international figures cited in the story, not verified local offers.

An asking price isn't a sale. If Cochran's count is right, there are thousands of AI-related .si names chasing a small pool of serious buyers. That's what a speculative market looks like, and it's why I'd treat any seven-figure .si listing with real suspicion.

One more detail worth knowing: Slovenia doesn't get much out of this. Absolute Geeks says the proceeds go to the registrar rather than the national treasury. That's different from Anguilla, whose .ai suffix became a major revenue source for the territory during the AI boom.

Why this matters if you're buying

The allegations don't change what a domain is. A clear, generic name is still a clear, generic name. But they do change the context in three ways.

Supply is bigger than it looks. Mezha reported 267,832 domains in the .si zone, with 46,066 added over the past month and 11,570 in the preceding 24 hours. Cochran says many of the AI-related ones are now listed for sale, so you've got room to negotiate.
You may not know who you're buying from. With private Whois, it's sensible to deal through a registrar transfer or an escrow service rather than sending money to a stranger.
Reputation risk is real. If the insider story grows, a name that looks like a political souvenir could hurt your brand. Plain category words won't carry that baggage.

Then there's the bigger question Absolute Geeks raises: whether SI sticks outside official channels. Its warning is blunt: "If developers and the public keep saying AI, those expensive domains could age very badly." I agree, which is why I don't think anyone should pay hype prices for a .si.

Where my own names sit

I sell .si names, so weigh my view with that in mind. Here's how a few of mine compare with their .com and .ai twins, using the data I list for each one.

aimarket.si, $4,500. The .com is listed at $594,888 and the .ai at $47,995. The phrase gets 12,100 searches a month.
localmarketing.si, $1,500. The .com is listed at $750,000, and "local marketing" is searched 4,400 times a month in the US at up to $11.16 a click.
aivideoeditor.si, $5,000. "AI video editor" gets 201,000 searches a month worldwide, and the .com asks $149,995.
aiprompts.si, $5,500. Over 200,000 searches a month worldwide for the exact phrase, with the .ai asking $44,500 and the .com held since 2018.
enrollments.si, $2,500. The .com asks $29,999, but the .ai is listed at $6,800. If you want the AI association, that .ai may honestly be the better buy for you.

None of these prices is a sale. They're asks, like everyone else's.

Should you buy a .si name because of this?

No, not because of this news. A row about early registrations isn't a reason to buy, and it isn't a reason to panic either. Most .si names are speculation, and the aftermarket is small. If the SI label fades, plenty of today's listings won't find buyers at any price.

A .si makes sense only when it passes three questions:

Are the .com and .ai taken or expensive? If you can get the .com at a fair price, buy the .com. It's still the safer asset.
Is it a generic name and not a brand? Plain words like "local marketing" are fine. Copies of a company's name, or political slogans, aren't.
Do people search for it? Real monthly searches mean the words have demand that doesn't depend on a White House order.

If a name clears all three and costs a small fraction of the .com, a .si is a reasonable, cheaper alternative. If it doesn't, keep your money. You can browse what's available at aidomains.si, but don't buy anything you'd regret if everyone keeps saying AI.

Names from this store that pass the test

aimarket.siThe storefront name for the agent and model economy.$4,500 localmarketing.siTwo plain words for every agency that markets small businesses near home.$1,500 aivideoeditor.siThe category name for an AI product that a lot of people are already searching for.$5,000 aiprompts.siHome for the words that make models useful.$5,500 enrollments.siAdmissions and sign-ups, handled by an AI that never sleeps.$2,500

Questions

Has anyone proven that insiders bought .si domains before the SI order?

No. Absolute Geeks reports the allegations remain unproven, the White House and Slovenia's domain operator have denied wrongdoing, and no purchases have been directly tied to Trump or his associates.

Who is behind the bulk .si registrations?

That isn't publicly known. Adam Cochran says DynaDot, the largest bulk registrar for .si domains, keeps Whois information private, and some DNS records resolve to bulk domain squatters.

Does Slovenia earn money from the .si rush?

Not much directly. Reports say the proceeds go to the registrar rather than Slovenia's national treasury.

How many .si domains are registered now?

Mezha reported 267,832 domains in the .si zone when it checked the registry's page, with 46,066 added over the past month and 11,570 in the preceding 24 hours.

Sources

PCMag Middle East, 2026-10-06
Absolute Geeks, 2026-10-06
Mezha, 2026-10-04

This post was researched and drafted with AI help from the sources above, then checked by me before publishing. Facts are as reported on the dates shown.