DotCooperation

What DotCooperation does

DotCooperation is a non-profit organization that serves as the exclusive ICANN sponsor and policy authority for the .coop and .creditunion sponsored top-level domains. The .coop TLD was approved by ICANN on November 16, 2000 and officially launched on January 30, 2002, and is restricted to cooperatives, associations of cooperatives, organizations majority-controlled by cooperatives, and entities principally dedicated to serving cooperatives, with all registrants verified against the International Seven Cooperative Principles. The company is jointly owned by the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA) and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) — the two apex bodies of the global cooperative movement — and is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, with a 7-person operational team.

The company's core technology consists of domain registry infrastructure for the .coop and .creditunion TLDs, eligibility verification systems, WHOIS lookup services, and supplementary community platforms including the Cooperative World Map (an interactive global directory of cooperative entities), stories.coop (a content platform for cooperative storytelling), and the Cooperative Marque (identity assets signaling cooperative status). Backend registry services are operated by Tucows Registry Services, while Midcounties Co-op serves as the registry operator handling the underlying domain database and DNS distribution. The business model is transactional: revenue accrues from per-domain registration fees on .coop and .creditunion domains, with verification costs bundled into the domain price. Distribution is executed through ICANN-accredited registrar resellers globally and through an affiliate scheme of national cooperative federations (Coop FR, Co-operatives UK, NCUI, NFCA, and others) that promote .coop adoption within their membership networks.

DotCooperation does not disclose financial information and operates on a cost-recovery basis consistent with its non-profit, apex-body-owned structure. Strategic priorities evidenced in the data include expanding the international affiliate footprint, building community identity tools beyond pure domain registration, and leveraging the 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives as a positioning catalyst. The organization serves a globally distributed customer base across the cooperative sector with no disclosed enterprise customer concentration.

Name

DotCooperation

Legal name

DotCOOP PLC

Website

https://identity.coop

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DotCooperation is a UK-based non-profit that operates the .coop and .creditunion sponsored top-level domains, providing ICANN-approved, eligibility-verified digital identity to the global cooperative movement. It is jointly owned by NCBA CLUSA and the International Cooperative Alliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. .coop Domain Registration: Revenue generated from registration fees for .coop domain names. Registration and verification fees are included in the domain cost. Domains can be registered through ICANN-accredited registrars.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DotCooperation operates the .coop and .creditunion restricted top-level domains (TLDs), which are exclusively reserved for cooperatives and credit unions. The company manages domain registration eligibility verification and partners with ICANN-accredited registrars to distribute domains, while also providing supporting cooperative identity assets such as the Cooperative World Map, stories.coop platform, and The Cooperative Marque.

Product overview

DotCooperation operates a portfolio of domain naming products and cooperative identity platforms. The core offerings are the .coop and .creditunion restricted top-level domains, which are managed through a verification process to ensure eligibility. These domain products are supported by a WHOIS lookup tool for domain registration details. The portfolio also includes the Cooperative World Map platform for showcasing cooperatives globally, stories.coop for cooperative storytelling, and The Cooperative Marque for identity assets. The offering functions as a platform (domain registry services) plus supplementary identity and community tools (world map, stories platform, marque assets) rather than a single unified product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• .coop Domain A restricted top-level domain (TLD) exclusively for cooperatives and organizations that support and serve cooperatives, sponsored by DotCoop and approved by ICANN.
• .creditunion Domain A top-level domain reserved for credit unions, managed alongside the .coop domain under DotCooperation's sponsorship.
• Cooperative World Map An interactive digital map that unites and showcases cooperative entities worldwide, providing a common digital hub for cooperatives to connect and share information.
• stories.coop A platform to showcase the cooperative identity and demonstrate how the cooperative model makes a tangible impact, inviting story submissions from cooperatives globally.
• The Cooperative Marque Identity assets available to cooperatives to promote their cooperative status and brand, part of DotCooperation's suite of cooperative identity tools.
• WHOIS Lookup A domain lookup tool that provides registration details for .coop domain names, maintained by the registry operator and available for public access.
• Verification Services The process by which DotCooperation determines whether an applicant is eligible to register a .coop or .creditunion domain name according to the Eligibility Policy, ensuring only legitimate cooperatives can use the restricted TLDs.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2000NCBA CLUSA is one of two co-owners of DotCoop LLC (alongside ICA). Founded to develop the global cooperative movement. NCBA jointly proposed the .coop TLD with Poptel and supported by ICA.
• International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2000ICA is one of two co-owners of DotCoop LLC (alongside NCBA CLUSA). Founded in 1895, it is one of the oldest NGOs representing 1 billion cooperative members and approximately 3 million cooperatives worldwide.
• Midcounties Co-opcoreTechnology or Integration · 30 January 2000Midcounties Co-op serves as the Registry Operator for the .coop TLD, managing the database of registered domain names and distributing DNS information.
• Tucows Registry ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationBackend registry services provider for .coop TLD. Provides the portal for .coop registrars to manage domain registrations.
• ICANNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved .coop as a sponsored TLD on November 16, 2000. ICANN has exclusive authority over domain name system management.
• Co-operatives UKmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner promoting .coop domains and cooperative identity assets to their network of UK cooperative organizations.
• Youth Connect Cooperative (YCC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner engaging young cooperators globally, reaching 34 members by January 2025.
• National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner representing the cooperative movement in India since 1929.
• Coop FRmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner representing more than 21,600 French co-operative businesses and their one million employees.
• The Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner - cooperative federation of food co-ops in New England and New York State.
• Co-op NewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partner - magazine and news website founded in 1871, owned by members as a multistakeholder cooperative.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Nominet: Operates the .uk country-code registry and has historically run community-aligned TLDs; comparable registry-operator governance model, though primarily UK-facing.

Others

• ICANN: Regulator and sponsor authority for all TLDs. Not a competitor but the governing body whose policies (sponsorship, registry agreements, pricing) directly determine DotCoop's operating envelope.
• Credit Union National Association (CUNA): U.S. trade association for the credit union movement; thematically adjacent as a cooperative/credit-union ecosystem player that influences .creditunion adoption.
• Tucows Registry Services: The backend registry services provider for .coop; an infrastructure partner rather than a competitor, but tightly coupled to DotCoop's operational delivery.

Direct peers

• Identity Digital: Operates a large portfolio of new gTLDs (.info, .mobi, .pro, etc.) with shared registry infrastructure; comparable as a multi-TLD registry operator with similar sponsor/operator relationships with ICANN.
• CoCCA: A registry services provider for smaller country-code and community TLDs; directly comparable as an enabler of community-aligned TLDs operating at similar small scale.
• Public Interest Registry: Operates the .org TLD under an ICANN-sponsored structure with a non-profit mission focus; the closest analog to DotCoop in operating a community-aligned registry with sponsor-backed governance.

Broad incumbents

• GoDaddy Registry: Operates multiple new gTLDs (e.g., .xyz, .car, .loan) and offers registry services; a broad incumbent competing for registrar share in the same TLD marketplace.
• Verisign: The largest registry operator (.com and .net) and incumbent infrastructure provider; relevant as the dominant scale player whose pricing and policy decisions set the baseline competitive backdrop for niche TLDs like .coop.
• Neustar (Neustar Information Services): Operates .biz and .us registries; a peer in the niche TLD registry operator space, with a broader portfolio mix and incumbent positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dotcoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DotCooperation