With technology already reshaping many aspects of our existence, its impact on our approach to death seems inevitable. The rise of ‘death tech’ is a notable development, changing how we navigate the end-of-life journey by incorporating innovative solutions into this deeply human experience. 

What is Death Tech?

Death Tech encompasses a range of technologies aimed at easing the processes associated with end-of-life planning, funerals, grief, memorialisation, and managing digital legacies. As our lives become increasingly digital, it’s only natural that our approach to death evolves alongside.

End-of-Life Planning

Death Tech is revolutionising the way we plan for the inevitable. With user-friendly apps and online platforms, people can now arrange their funerals, manage estate affairs, and even express their posthumous wishes in a more organised and accessible manner. This shift empowers individuals with control over their final journey and relieves the burden on grieving loved ones.

Leveraging Tech for Grief Support

The journey of grief can be isolating and overwhelming, particularly in a world where physical distancing has become the norm. Recognising this, death tech startups are developing resources and platforms that offer support and community for those in mourning. From virtual counselling sessions to online support groups, technology is making it possible for individuals to find solace and understanding from the comfort of their own homes.

Digital Memorialisation

Digital memorials have become increasingly prevalent, providing online spaces for commemorating lost loved ones. Families share cherished memories, photos, and videos through customisable memorial pages. Functional options such as fingerprint jewellery and memorial diamonds made from ashes or hair immortalise the memory of those we hold dear. Innovative features like AI chatbots enable simulated conversations with the deceased.

Eco-Conscious Burial Options

Environmental concerns are also being addressed in this industry. Eco-friendly alternatives to traditional burials, such as biodegradable urns or natural burial grounds, are gaining popularity. These sustainable options reflect a growing desire to leave a minimal environmental footprint, even in death.

Exploring Naming and Domain Strategies in the Death Tech Sector

This section delves into various companies across the death tech sector. Our focus will be on their naming and domain strategies, shedding light on how they’ve crafted their brand identities and established their online presence in the market.

Namepicks

Farewill

Farewill is a leading death tech startup headquartered in London, England. Founded by Dan Garrett and Tom Rogers, it offers a range of services, including will-writing, probate, and cremation. 

The inspiration behind Farewill was born out of Garrett’s experience in a Japanese residential home, where he was confronted with the shortcomings of conventional death care. This revelation led him to return to the UK, where he immersed himself in the death industry, conducting 15 funerals and earning a qualification in will writing. In 2015, he launched Farewill with a clear mission: to change the way the world deals with death. 

From writing your will to planning a funeral, the way we deal with death is formal, complicated and expensive. Instead of feeling supported, people feel lost. But it doesn’t need to be this way. We started Farewill to change the way the world deals with death: to make the experience warmer, brighter and friendlier.

Farewill

The company has invested in both Farewill.co.uk and Farewill.com, strengthening its online brand presence. Implementing a strong domain strategy is key to establishing a robust brand identity, enhancing customer engagement and accessibility to the business’s services.

Empathy

Empathy, co-founded in 2020 by Ron Gura and Yonatan Bergman, emerged as a response to the profound challenges of dealing with grief, estate settlement, and probate. The platform distinguishes itself by providing comprehensive support during some of life’s most difficult moments. The inspiration behind Empathy is deeply personal; Ron Gura’s journey with grief began with the loss of his middle brother, deeply affecting his family, especially his mother, who endured her pain in silence.

This experience of loss and witnessing its impact on his family drove Ron to partner with Yonatan Bergman to create Empathy. Their goal was to offer a helping hand to those lost in the maze of bereavement, providing resources and support often absent in times of need. Recognising the societal tendency to overlook or minimise the complexities of loss, they aimed to break this cultural silence, making Empathy a beacon of guidance and solace for grieving families.

We are passionate about bringing bereavement care into the open, straightforwardly addressing the pain grieving families face, and providing the essential support they truly need.

Ron Gura, Co-Founder & CEO

In March 2024, Empathy raised a $47 million Series B round led by Index Ventures with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, and Brewer Lane.

The company’s choice of the name ‘Empathy’ is exceptionally apt, reflecting its mission to provide understanding and support in times of grief. By operating under Empathy.com, the company showcases the strength of using a clear, dictionary-word .com domain.  These domains are powerful branding tools, offering memorability, simplicity, and a sense of authority. A premium domain like Empathy.com is a strategic asset that significantly enhances a brand’s visibility and credibility.

Lonite

LONITÉ, a trademark of LONITE AG in Switzerland, is a world leader in transforming cremation ashes into diamonds. The company’s founders are experts in jewellery, funeral services, scientific research, and diamond crafting, bringing together a unique blend of skills essential for making these special memorial diamonds. The name ‘Lonité’ comes from the Swiss-French word ‘Longévité’, meaning longevity, reflecting the company’s commitment to creating lasting memories through diamonds made from the ashes of loved ones.

Our Philosophy Our primary role is not to be dealers in diamonds trade, but to provide emotional support. Our cremation diamonds and jewelry reunite our clients and their deceased lovers by keeping them close to heart. Moved by so many loving stories, our employees are dedicated to providing care and comfort to families in need.

LONITÉ

The company’s choice of an exact brand match .com domain name Lonite.com strengthens its online presence and boosts its marketing efforts across all channels, taking advantage of the widespread appeal of .com domain names among internet users.

Replika

Replika, an AI chatbot app, was launched in 2017 by Eugenia Kuyda, co-founder of the tech company Luka, which began at the Y Combinator startup accelerator in 2012. 

The development of Replika was deeply personal for Kuyda and stemmed from a tragic event. After the loss of her best friend, Roman, in a car accident, she found comfort in rereading their text messages, which captured his unique personality and humour. This led her to an innovative idea: feeding their conversation history into an AI program to create a chatbot that mimicked Roman’s conversational style. This project, initially a tool for personal grief, evolved into Replika, a chatbot that offers personalised interaction, learning and adapting from each conversation with its user. 

We saw a very emotional response from these users, and so we decided to put together an app called Replika, which would be an AI friend that you could talk to, with no judgement, available 24/7 for you, that will always be there and hear you out and accept you for who you are — just as Roman did to me. To have someone that will tell you that, ‘It’s OK to be who you are. I’m here for you. I won’t walk away. I won’t just disappear overnight. I’ll be here for you.’ That was kind of the main idea for Replika.

Eugenia Kuyda, founder of Replika

Replika utilises sophisticated machine learning algorithms and scripted dialogue content to tailor its interactions to each user’s unique needs, serving as a personalised digital companion. A standout feature of this chatbot is its capacity to converse in a friendly, lifelike manner. Programmed for empathy and understanding, Replika engages users in supportive, non-judgmental conversations, much like a real friend would. Additionally, the app offers interactive elements, such as the ability to share photos and engage with user avatars using Augmented Reality, enhancing the overall experience.

Replika began with the domain extension .ai, chosen for its association with artificial intelligence (AI), a popular choice among tech businesses. The extension is actually a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla. While such domains offer more freedom of choice, they can have limitations for global businesses. Recognising the importance of a strong online identity, the company eventually acquired the exact brand match domain, Replika.com. Many brands start on compromise names and invest in their exact brand match .com at a later stage of development.

DigitalWill.com

DigitalWill.com, founded by Art Shaikh, offers an innovative approach to managing digital legacies. The idea for the company emerged from Art’s personal experience. When his father passed away in 2013 without a will, Art struggled to access his father’s online accounts, including financial information, emails, and an iCloud account filled with over 10,000 family photos and videos. This difficult experience, combined with the grief of losing his father, highlighted a significant problem: the lack of a modern solution for managing and accessing digital assets after someone’s death.

Recognising this gap, Art was inspired to create DigitalWill.com. His goal was to develop a platform that made it easy and secure to document and share access to one’s digital footprint, including what should happen to these accounts after passing. DigitalWill.com is designed to ensure that others don’t face similar challenges and to alleviate additional stress for families during times of loss.

It took me months to recover all of the passwords and accounts, and I got to thinking that there NEEDS to be a more modern, trustworthy way to store and manage all of this after death. Otherwise, family members are left to handle it all on top of the grieving process. So that is what I set out to do. Now, we intend on being the go-to company for all of your essential end-of-life services.

Art Shaikh, the Founder & CEO of DigitalWill.com for ValiantCEO

DigitalWill.com exemplifies the using straightforward, dictionary-word domains. Such names are easy to recall and lend a sense of credibility and professionalism, essential for establishing trust with customers. The clear and reliable nature of these domains enhances organic search traffic and boosts marketing efficiency, providing a competitive edge.

The addition of the .com extension to the brand name aligns with a trend among companies that possess premium domain names, such as Booking.com, Crypto.com, and Cars.com, to name a few.  This approach streamlines the customer’s path to the brand, ensuring it is easy to remember and directly accessible. It also lessens the brand’s dependency on external platforms, leading to a more seamless customer experience.

Highlights

The domain name of a company is often the first thing potential customers encounter, making a significant impact on their impression of the brand. The preference for a .com domain extension among businesses is notable, as it’s widely recognised as the most credible and trustworthy option, helping to build trust with the target audience. This is evident as 84 out of 106 death tech startups on our list have chosen .com domains.

Having a strong online presence is critical for business success, and securing a domain that exactly matches the brand name is a key strategy. Of the death tech startups on our list, 68 have secured such exact brand match .com domains, reflecting their commitment to a seamless online customer experience. These domains make it easier for customers to find, engage with, and remember the company, potentially leading to more interactions and higher conversion rates.

1 company uses a dash in its domain name, which can make the domain name harder to remember and create confusion.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

Premium domain names are an important consideration when it comes to building and protecting your brand. If you’re ready to take the next step and invest in a premium domain name for your business, contact us to learn more about our available options and how we can help you get started.

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