i2Coalition Member Spotlight: iQ

Since 2014, the team behind iQ saw a global need for domain name industry business intelligence tools and services. They believe that we are responsible for building the Internet we want to experience—so they have based their service offerings on proactivity, community, and the Norwegian concept of “dugnad”, which means “help” or “support”. Today iQ is recognized for domain name industry business intelligence, cybersecurity, and AI innovation. We caught up with iQ CTO Lars “LG” Forsberg to chat about service, industry collaboration, and the evolution of a brand. 

i2Coalition: Can you give us the elevator pitch for iQ?
Lars “LG” Forsberg: iQ is a SaaS provider specializing in meeting the specific needs of the domain name industry. Our team consists of industry veterans with extensive experience at registries, registrars, and hosting providers—expertise that is essential for delivering services that make daily operations more efficient and insightful for organizations in this space. I want to point out two of our key offerings.

iQ Abuse Manager enables the monitoring, management, and mitigation of online threats such as phishing, malware, and fraud. By combining robust systems, AI-powered enrichment and filtering, and human oversight, we reduce the burden on users and enhance efforts to make the internet a safer place.

iQ Domain Analytics is our business intelligence suite, designed for the domain name industry and based on internal transaction data rather than external web scraping. Primarily built for TLD registries, this service provides detailed analytics on registrations, renewals, deletions, promotions, premium domain sales, and more. With recent enhancements to support ccTLD-specific business models and an emerging registrar-focused version, Domain Analytics offers meaningful and empowering value to the industry.

i2Coalition: Though you started in 2014, this company was first launched to the public as RegistryOffice in 2017. (Seems so long ago!) What service changes are behind the new name?
LG: RegistryOffice was the original project name for the two main components we still offer today. Both were developed to meet the needs of our founders as they operated the .global top-level domain. When they exited that specific segment of the domain name industry to focus on SaaS services, adopting a new name and organization made sense. The name iQ reflects our commitment to innovation in industry support services and our mission to make data-driven decision-making more accessible to our customers.

i2Coalition: You started working meaningfully with AI before the recent boom. Since then, which advancements in AI have surprised you the most?
LG: Our engineers have been fascinated by AI for a long time, and we conducted extensive testing with traditional machine learning to enhance our services. When large language models became widely available, we were already integrating them where they fit naturally.

We anticipated that these technologies would be expensive initially but would become more affordable over time. The most surprising development has been just how quickly costs have dropped—tasks that cost us $5,000 per month 18 months ago can now be accomplished for as little as $15! This dramatic reduction has made AI accessible even for request- and data-intensive tasks.

i2Coalition: What impact do you think recent geopolitical events have had on iQ’s development?
LG: iQ has always aimed to remain neutral regarding geopolitics. However, as a European company incorporated in Norway (which is not an EU member), we have experienced several events that have influenced our development.

Regulations such as GDPR and NIS2 have impacted how we receive, store, and secure data, as well as how we provide services to customers with strong national ties both within and outside the EU. More recently, issues related to currency and reliance on the US dollar during periods of uncertainty have also become important considerations as we plan for the future.

i2Coalition: Which operators in the domain name industry should be seeking iQ’s services?
LG: iQ offers services to all participants in the domain name industry, with our suite of abuse management and mitigation tools being particularly broad and widely applicable. In addition, our business intelligence suite and consulting services—covering technology, policy, and TLD applications—are also of significant interest to many in the industry.

i2Coalition: Why did your team find it important to join the i2Coalition?
LG: Cooperation is a defining characteristic of the domain name industry, distinguishing it from other sectors both within IT and beyond. At iQ, we value the opportunity to learn from others, share experiences, and align on important issues. This collaborative spirit is a key reason why we joined the i2Coalition.

i2Coalition: Which i2Coalition initiatives connect most deeply with your team’s ethos?
LG: Given our team’s broad experience in the domain name industry, it’s difficult to single out just one i2Coalition initiative. The Cybersecurity and Privacy Working Group is closely aligned with our work on Abuse Manager, while the Technology and Trade, as well as the DNS Issues Working Groups, are also highly relevant to our daily operations.

i2Coalition: Where does government policy interface with your work on a daily basis?
LG: As I mentioned earlier, iQ maintains a neutral stance on government policy and is not a major stakeholder in the IGF or highly active in related communities. However, many of our partners and customers are either regulated by government policy or involved in policy development. In these relationships, we provide guidance and uphold our commitment to keeping the internet secure, stable, and accessible to all.