State of the Industry EXTRA! Team Internet CEO Michael Riedl Revisits a Monumental 2025 and Predicts a Pivotal 2026 

One of the situations that sparked this idea was getting an email from Team Internet Group CEO Michael Riedl yesterday. Michael knew the SOTI deadline had passed but since I had asked for his thoughts he still took the time when it opened to answer them. In addition to striking me as being very considerate (which would not surprise anyone who knows Michael) the content also struck me as content everyone else would like to read too, so here we go! 

Michael Riedl is CEO of Team Internet Group PLC, operating global platforms in domains, digital identity, and performance-based online marketing. Guided by the belief that “Everything begins with a name,” he is focused on the next evolution of naming and customer acquisition at the intersection of domains, AI agents, and emerging digital identity models.

2025 was a defining year for the domain industry because it showed how domains are evolving from simple web addresses into core digital infrastructure. One of the most visible developments was the continued surge in demand for AI-related domains. This was especially clear in .ai, but also in premium keyword .com names tied to automation and next-generation software. The aftermarket remained resilient, and strong digital real estate continued to attract entrepreneurs and long-term investors. 

At the same time, domains are increasingly being viewed as  part of a broader identity and  trust layer. Corporate clients are putting more focus on security, abuse prevention, portfolio governance, and brand protection. The credibility of the namespace is becoming more important every year. Another important trend was the rise of new transactional use cases. Crypto payments became more mainstream in cross-border commerce and digital services. As adoption grows, naming becomes more valuable as a human-friendly interface for payments and identity.  

Michael Riedl
CEO, Team Internet Group

We also saw domains increasingly used as wallet proxies. These systems make blockchain addresses readable and consumer-friendly. They are still complementary to DNS, but they reinforce a key direction of travel. Naming is expanding beyond navigation into ownership and value transfer. 2025 also continued the professionalization of the industry. Scale, compliance readiness, and operational excellence are becoming the real differentiators. At Team Internet Group, we focused on strengthening our platform, investing in recurring customer relationships, and positioning domains as trusted digital infrastructure for the long term.

Michael Riedl in a recent interview conducted by Soeren von Varchmin

2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the domain industry, driven by namespace expansion, platform evolution, and new models of digital identity. The biggest structural event ahead is the next new gTLD round. The upcoming expansion will happen in a very different environment than the last one. Brands are more sophisticated, governments are more engaged, and digital sovereignty has become a strategic issue. The opportunity is to create meaningful new categories and global diversity. The challenge is to do so while preserving trust and avoiding unnecessary complexity. 

At the same time, the industry will keep moving toward domains as a service, not domains as a standalone product. Customers increasingly expect domains bundled with security, verification, productivity tools, and corporate-grade portfolio management. Operators will differentiate through software platforms, not commodity registration alone. Crypto-native commerce is also likely to accelerate. As crypto payments become easier and more regulated, domains may serve as identity anchors in transactional ecosystems. Wallet naming, merchant routing, and digital credentialing are early examples of this shift. 

AI will remain a dominant force, and 2026 may be the year AI agents break through at scale. Businesses and consumers will interact with automated agents that search, recommend, transact, and manage workflows on their behalf. This will increase the importance of trusted naming, authentication, and persistent digital identifiers. We also expect voice-based navigation through AI assistants to accelerate. In a conversational internet, memorable and trusted names become even more valuable, not only typed, but spoken. Blockchain naming will continue to develop alongside DNS. DNS will remain the global standard, but parallel systems may influence expectations around portability and identity ownership. 

For our business, 2026 is about building on our scaled platform across domains, identity and software, expanding corporate services, and preparing strategically for the next namespace expansion cycle. The domain industry has always been durable. The next year will be defined by how we evolve from naming the web to naming the next era of digital identity, commerce, and agent-driven navigation.

(Posted January 30, 2026)  

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