Trump's AI Rebrand Sparks Surge in Slovenian Domain Sales

Registrations for Slovenia's .si web domain jumped more than 2,100% in September, according to the country's national domain registry, after President Donald Trump pushed to rebrand artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," or SI. The spike tracks the same two letters used in Slovenia's country-code web suffix.

What Triggered The Domain Rush?

Trump called for the rebrand during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 11, BBC News reported. "The use of the word artificial makes it sound fake," he said. "It's not fake, it's actually amazing. But we have to be careful... welcome to the new world of super intelligence."

Register.si spokeswoman Klara Herman told the BBC the registry saw registrations stand out "very clearly" against every other month this year, though she said she was "cautious" about crediting the entire surge to Trump's remarks alone.

How Many Slovenian Addresses Were Registered?

The registry's figures show a sharp break from typical monthly volume:

• August 2026: fewer than 2,000 new .si registrations
• September 2026: 44,000 new .si registrations
• September 30 alone: 11,000 registrations in a single day

Herman called the late-September activity "unprecedented" compared with the prior 12 months, according to the BBC.

What Did Trump's Executive Order Actually Change?

Trump hosted technology executives this week for what he called "an extraordinary gathering" of people "building America's Golden Age," the BBC reported. He then signed an executive order directing federal agencies to adopt "SI" and "Super Intelligence" in official correspondence, websites and reports, and to stop using the term AI. The BBC noted that images of the signed order circulated online after observers spotted "United States" misspelled beneath Trump's signature.

Is Buying Up Domain Names Before They Rise In Value Legal?

Speculative domain purchases — buying an address on the chance it becomes valuable later — are a legitimate, long-running practice, according to the BBC's reporting. The outlet cited domain investor Rick Schwartz, who bought men.com for $15,000 in 1997 and sold it for $1.32 million seven years later. BBC News issued a correction after its original story described the activity as cyber-squatting; the outlet clarified that registering a domain as an investment, without bad-faith intent, is distinct from that practice.

What Happens Next For .si Domains?

The registry has not said whether the pace of registrations held into October or whether it expects the demand to fade once the policy shift settles. Herman's comments to the BBC leave open how much of the surge reflects genuine interest in SI-branded ventures versus investors betting on resale value. The U.S. government's use of the new terminology, mandated under Trump's executive order, is expected to roll out across agency websites and documents in the coming months, per the order's text as described by the BBC.

For now, Slovenia's registry stands as the clearest numeric marker of how a rebranding push by a sitting U.S. president reached into a foreign country's internet infrastructure within weeks of his UN speech.