Key findings
Figures are rounded. See methodology for how we define an "exact .com".
1. The .com curve: ownership by funding stage
The further a startup gets, the more likely it is to be on its exact .com. Early teams launch on whatever is available; by later rounds, most have upgraded, renamed or bought the .com.
Share of startups using their exact .com, by stage
Source: NameUpgrade analysis of 9,162 funded startups, October 2026.
The pattern is consistent with what we see in practice: the .com becomes a priority once a company has customers, press and a brand to protect, and by then the name has usually become more expensive to acquire.
2. AI startups and the rise of .ai
AI companies are the least likely to be on their exact .com. Many launch on .ai, which has become the default home for AI products.
Exact .com share by sector
Sector is assigned from each company's own description, not its domain.
3. What startups use instead
When the exact .com isn't theirs, startups typically add a word to the .com, or move to another extension.
Main website domain of funded startups
Most common additions to a .com name
Among 1,067 startups on a modified version of their name.
| Pattern | Startups |
|---|---|
| get….com | 123 |
| use….com | 68 |
| try….com | 63 |
| …ai.com | 57 |
| …hq.com | 49 |
| join….com | 37 |
| …app.com | 36 |
| with….com | 33 |
| …labs.com | 24 |
| go….com | 21 |
4. Trend by cohort year
Recent cohorts are less likely to start on their exact .com, and far more likely to use .ai.
Exact .com and .ai share by year of funding or accelerator batch
| Year | Startups | Exact .com | .ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 219 | 45% | 9% |
| 2019 | 147 | 48% | 5% |
| 2020 | 325 | 39% | 10% |
| 2021 | 641 | 39% | 9% |
| 2022 | 713 | 29% | 10% |
| 2023 | 624 | 27% | 21% |
| 2024 | 1,084 | 29% | 20% |
| 2025 | 1,706 | 29% | 24% |
| 2026 | 2,047 | 34% | 22% |
Older cohorts include only companies still active today, which tend to be more established, so part of the difference reflects upgrading over time.
5. Who holds the .com they don't own?
For startups not on their exact .com, we checked who holds that .com today. It's almost always registered, and usually has been for a long time.
Status of the exact .com, for startups that don't use it
4,354 domains checked using public DNS, registry (RDAP) records and nameserver signals.
- Old registrations: the median .com was first registered in 2000; 49% before 2000 and 69% before 2005.
- Openly for sale: 15% sit on marketplace nameservers, meaning the owner is already a seller.
- Big-company holdings: 8% are held through brand-protection registrars typically used by large corporations.
- Hiding in plain sight: 2% are already owned by the startup itself but not used as its main site.
6. What it means for founders
- You're not alone: most funded startups don't start on their exact .com. It's normal to launch on .ai or a modified name.
- The .com usually becomes a priority later: the share roughly triples from the earliest stage to later rounds.
- It's rarely free, but often obtainable: nearly every exact .com is registered, yet a meaningful share are listed for sale or unused.
- Timing matters: each funding announcement makes a company more visible, and owners notice. Approaching early and confidentially tends to work best.
Thinking about the .com of your name? See how we acquire domains, or get in touch.
7. Methodology and limitations
Dataset. 9,162 startups with a known website, drawn from public sources: accelerator directories (5,302), funding announcements (3,573) and SEC Form D filings (287). Stage reflects the most recent round we recorded.
"Exact .com". A company counts as on its exact .com when its main website is its name, with spaces and punctuation removed, followed by .com (for example, "Acme Labs" → acmelabs.com). Companies on a shortened or different version of their name count as not exact, so the true share of companies that own a .com they're happy with may be somewhat higher.
.com status. For startups not on their exact .com, we looked up that .com using public DNS and registry (RDAP) data and classified it from nameserver and registrar signals: marketplace nameservers indicate a for-sale listing; brand-protection registrars indicate corporate holdings; registrar default nameservers indicate an unused domain. These are signals, not confirmations of an owner's intent.
Limitations. Matching is automated and will include some errors. Older cohorts include only surviving companies. Sector labels come from company descriptions. We report rounded figures and publish aggregates only: no individual company is identified.
The data is free to use under CC BY 4.0, with a link to this page.
Questions
What share of startups own their exact .com?
In our dataset of 9,162 funded startups, about 36% use the exact .com of their name as their main website.
Do startups switch to the .com as they grow?
The share rises steadily with funding stage: from 18% at Pre-seed to 58% at Series B and later. Older, larger companies are far more likely to be on their exact .com.
Is the .com of a startup's name usually available?
Almost never. Of 4,354 exact .com names we checked for startups that don't use them, only 5 were unregistered. The median one was first registered in 2000.
Can I use or cite this data?
Yes. You're welcome to quote and chart the figures with a link to this page as the source. The aggregated data is available as a CSV download.