This AI Domain Just Sold for a Mind-Blowing Price — And a Crypto Boss Bought It

The founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com has acquired AI.com for $70 million, the highest publicly disclosed price ever paid for a domain name, as he prepares to enter the fast-growing artificial intelligence market. Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, plans to officially launch AI.com during a Super Bowl advertisement this weekend. The website will introduce a personal "AI agent" designed to help users send messages, operate apps and trade stocks."Last year an opportunity came up for me to acquire this domain and I thought if you take a long-term view — 10 to 20 years — that [AI] is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime. And so it would be a good investment," Marszalek told

the Financial Times.Marszalek declined to comment on the purchase price, but the $70 million figure was confirmed by the broker involved in the transaction, Larry Fischer of GetYourDomain.com. Fischer said the payment was made entirely in cryptocurrency to an undisclosed seller and described it as the largest domain sale ever disclosed.

"With assets like AI.com, there are no substitutes," Fischer said, adding, "When one becomes available, the opportunity may never present itself again."Crypto.com was launched by Marszalek in 2016 in an already crowded cryptocurrency exchange market. He said the company’s annual revenue has grown to about $1.5 billion. The firm has also signed several high-profile agreements, including deals with Trump Media & Technology Group.Marketing partnerships, sports sponsorships and celebrity endorsements have played a key role in Crypto.com’s expansion. In 2021, the company signed a $700 million, multi-year deal for naming rights to a major Los Angeles sports stadium.Marszalek said there were “good business reasons” for paying a premium price for the AI.com domain. "There is a big desire for us to own this touchpoint, otherwise you get commoditised," he said.“I thought it was quite interesting that one person can own two domains that stand for such important categories,” he added.

He said AI.com could offer features similar to OpenClaw, a popular AI agent that has recently gained attention in Silicon Valley, but with a simpler interface for non-technical users.Marszalek said he had already received “an absolutely insane amount of money” to resell the domain but believes owning AI.com will help build trust and visibility in a rapidly expanding market.