Afilias
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Domain name registry |
| Founded | October 2000 |
| Founder | Coalition of 19 domain registrars |
| Fate | Merged with Identity Digital in 2022 |
| Successor | Identity Digital |
| Headquarters | Horsham, Pennsylvania , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Hal Lubsen (CEO, founding), Ram Mohan (CTO), Roland LaPlante (CMO), Anthony M. Beltran (leadership) |
| Products | Registry services for TLDs including .info, .mobi, .pro, .org, .ngo, .lgbt, country code TLDs such as .au, .mn, .ag, .io and others; DeviceAtlas; goMobi; mobiForge; mobiReady |
| Owner | Donuts (acquired 2020), now part of Identity Digital |
| Parent | Identity Digital |
| Website | afilias |
Afilias, Inc. was an American company functioning as the registry operator for the top-level domains (TLDs) .info, .mobi, and .pro. Additionally, it provided registry management for several other domains such as .org, .ngo, .lgbt, .asia, .aero, along with country code TLDs including .MN (Mongolia), .AG (Antigua and Barbuda), .AU (Australia), .BM (Bermuda), .BZ (Belize), .AC (Ascension Island), .GI (Gibraltar), .IO (British Indian Ocean Territory), .ME (Montenegro), .PR (Puerto Rico), .SC (Seychelles), .SH (Saint Helena), and .VC (St. Vincent and the Grenadines). The company also supported domain extensions such as .SG (Singapore), .LA (Laos), and .HN (Honduras). In 2022, Afilias merged with Identity Digital.
History
Established in October 2000 by a coalition of 19 leading domain registrars, Afilias’ initial executive team consisted of CEO Hal Lubsen, CTO Ram Mohan, and CMO Roland LaPlante.
In February 2010, Afilias expanded by acquiring mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd., the entity managing the .mobi TLD, thereby becoming the official Registry Operator while keeping dotMobi as a fully owned subsidiary.
By December 2012, Afilias further extended its portfolio through the acquisition of registryPro, the operator for the .pro TLD, which was also retained as a wholly owned subsidiary with Afilias as its designated Registry Operator.
October 2015 marked Afilias’ purchase of domain registrar 101domain, with Anthony M. Beltran stepping into a leadership role following CEO Wolfgang Reile’s exit.
In December 2017, auDA appointed Afilias to deliver registry services for the Australian country code domain (.au). To facilitate this contract, Afilias established an office in Melbourne. Under Ram Mohan’s guidance, the company executed a migration of over three million .au domains on July 1, 2018—a feat recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest single-domain transfer ever completed.
In November 2020, Donuts, another prominent domain registry operator, acquired Afilias; subsequently in 2022, both entities consolidated under the Identity Digital brand.
Afilias maintained its headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania, with additional engineering and operational centers located in Toronto, Dublin, Beijing, Melbourne, and New Delhi.
List of Afilias-operated domains
[ [.voto] ] owned || 2014-02-13| Domain | Owned or operated? | WHOIS creation date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| .adult | operated | ||
| .aero | operated | ||
| .ag | operated | ||
| .archi | owned | 2014-03-20 | |
| .asia | operated | ||
| .au | operated | ||
| .bet | owned | 2015-07-16 | |
| .bio | owned | 2014-05-15 | |
| .black | owned | 2014-03-20 | |
| .blue | owned | 2014-01-23 | |
| .bz | operated | ||
| .eco | operated | ||
| .gi | operated | ||
| .global | operated | ||
| .green | owned | 2014-06-12 | |
| .info | owned | 2001-06-26 | |
| .kim | owned | 2013-12-19 | |
| .lc | operated | ||
| .lgbt | owned | 2014-06-26 | |
| .llc | owned | 2018-02-16 | |
| .lotto | owned | 2014-06-05 | |
| .ltda | operated | ||
| .me | operated | ||
| .mobi | owned | 2005-10-17 | |
| .ngo | operated | ||
| .ong | operated | ||
| .onl | operated | ||
| .org | operated | ||
| .organic | owned | 2014-05-29 | |
| .pet | owned | 2015-07-16 | |
| .pink | owned | 2013-12-19 | |
| .poker | owned | 2014-09-04 | |
| .porn | operated | ||
| .post | operated | ||
| .pr | operated | ||
| .pro | owned | 2002-05-08 | |
| .promo | owned | 2015-12-18 | |
| .red | owned | 2014-01-16 | |
| .rich | operated | ||
| .sc | operated | ||
| .sex | operated | ||
| .shiksha | owned | 2014-01-16 | |
| .ski | owned | 2015-05-14 | |
| .srl | operated | ||
| .vc | operated | ||
| .vegas | operated | ||
| .vote | owned | 2014-02-13 |
Mobile and Web Solutions
- DeviceAtlas – a platform delivering mobile device intelligence, designed to help enterprises enhance user engagement and improve targeting strategies.
- goMobi – a service facilitating the creation of mobile websites, supporting businesses in establishing their presence on mobile platforms.
- mobiForge – an information center focused on mobile technology developments, assisting companies in driving innovation.
- mobiReady – an evaluation tool that measures website compatibility with mobile devices, aiding in the refinement of digital approaches.
Awards and Recognitions
- Guinness World Record for executing the largest top-level domain migration as of July 2018, demonstrating extensive operational capability.
- CIO 100 Award received in June 2014 for outstanding achievements in IT strategy and operational excellence.
- Ram Mohan honored in June 2010 as one of IDG World's Top 25 CTOs, highlighting his leadership in DNS security advancements.
See also
- auDA
- Country code top-level domain
- Generic top-level domain
- ICANN
- Internet Society
- Public Interest Registry