Just in time to create a new Super Bowl ad, Crypto.com founder Kris Marszalek has made the priciest domain purchase in history. He bought AI.com for a reported 70 million dollars, according to the Financial Times. The deal was paid entirely in cryptocurrency to an unknown seller, which shatters all previous records. Broker Larry Fischer, who facilitated the sale, is presumably celebrating his good fortune.
Marszalek plans to debut the site during Sunday’s big game. The site will offer consumers a personal AI agent for messaging, app usage, and stock trading. He stated that if you take a long-term view of ten to twenty years, artificial intelligence is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime.
This purchase rewrites the domain record books. The crypto industry is not known for its restraint when it comes to spending. Previously, CarInsurance.com held the crown at 49.7 million dollars in 2010. That was followed by VacationRentals.com at 35 million dollars in 2007 and Voice.com at 30 million dollars in 2019. Other eye-popping sales include PrivateJet.com for 30 million dollars, 360.com for 17 million dollars, and Sex.com, which has sold twice for over 13 million dollars each time. Its second owner went bankrupt trying to monetize it.
The broker noted that with assets like AI.com, there are no substitutes. He said when one becomes available, the opportunity may never present itself again.
Whether these mega-dollar domains actually deliver returns remains an open question. But for Marszalek, who already owns Crypto.com and spent 700 million dollars on stadium naming rights, owning two category-defining domains is apparently worth the outlay.