Caribbean island to set up sovereign wealth fund with proceeds of AI boom
The Caribbean island of Anguilla has made millions by selling its .ai domain to artificial intelligence companies. Now it is putting that money to good use. (Cedick Isham Calvados/AFP via Getty Images)
We can all dream about what we might do if we suddenly came into a huge windfall - for example if we won the lottery.
Most of us probably wouldn’t be as responsible as we’d like to think but the same cannot be said of the small Caribbean island of Anguilla which recently hit the jackpot.
Anguilla administers the .ai domain which has become increasingly popular among companies in the artificial intelligence sector.
Revenue from .ai domain registrations and renewals is projected to account for nearly 40 per cent of Anguilla’s total non-tax revenue in 2026, underscoring its growing importance to the public finances. In 2023 alone the country made $32mn from selling domain registrations - about 10 per cent of the country’s GDP.
Anguilla is now moving to formalize its growing digital windfall with the creation of the island’s first sovereign wealth fund.
Finance minister Cora Richardson Hodge said the government has already requested and secured technical assistance from international development partners to help design and implement the fund, marking an early step in institutionalizing the country’s new source of wealth. While a formal launch date has not yet been set, the finance ministry is actively “laying the groundwork” for the vehicle’s establishment.
“The growing prominence of .ai has placed our island on the global stage, and we are determined that this advantage delivers real and lasting benefits for our people,” Hodge said during the address.
The proposed fund will be used to strengthen Anguilla’s disaster resilience.
“Our task is not simply to collect revenue, it is to manage it wisely,” Hodge said. “The message is clear: .ai is not just a revenue stream; it is a nation-building tool for the digital age. And through prudent management, we will ensure that this opportunity uplifts every Anguillian, not for a moment, but for a generation.”