Crypto.com places $70 million bet on AI.com domain ahead of Super Bowl

Just in time to create a new Super Bowl ad, Crypto.com founder Chris Marszalek made the most expensive domain purchase in history, buying AI.com for $70 million, according to the Financial Times. The deal, paid entirely in cryptocurrency to an unknown seller, breaks previous records. (Supposedly, broker Larry Fisher, who facilitated the sale, is celebrating his good fortune.)

Marszalek plans to debut the site during Sunday’s big game, offering consumers a personal AI agent for messaging, using apps and trading stocks. “If you look at the long term – 10 to 20 years – [AI] “It will be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime.”

The purchase rewrites the domain’s record books — not that the cryptocurrency industry itself is known for its restraint when it comes to spending. Previously, CarInsurance.com held the crown with $49.7 million (2010), followed by VacationRentals.com ($35 million in 2007) and Voice.com ($30 million in 2019). Other eye-catching sales include PrivateJet.com ($30 million), 360.com ($17 million), and Sex.com, which was sold twice for more than $13 million each time, although its second owner went bankrupt while trying to monetize it.

“With assets like AI.com, there are no alternatives,” Fisher told the Financial Times. “Once one becomes available, the opportunity may never arise again.”

Whether these big-dollar domains actually generate returns remains an open question. But for Marszalek, who already owns Crypto.com and has spent $700 million on stadium naming rights, having two category-defining domains seems worth the expense.