From a $70 Million Sky-High Transaction to a First-Day Crash: The "Amateur" Debut of ai.com
An article titled "From a $70 Million Record-Bomain Deal to Launch Day Downtime: The Rocky Debut of AI.com" reports that the highly sought-after domain AI.com, which had been at the center of speculation and bidding among AI giants, was acquired for $70 million in April 2025 by Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. The transaction, paid for in cryptocurrency, set a new public record for domain sales.
The domain, first registered in 1993, had previously been linked to OpenAI and later to Elon Musk’s xAI in what was seen as a marketing tactic to drive up its value. Marszalek stated that he received even higher offers after the purchase but chose to retain the domain, believing it would be crucial for future business credibility.
Over Super Bowl weekend, Marszalek launched AI.com, promoting it as a platform where users could deploy AI agents for tasks like stock trading and workflow automation. However, within 48 hours of going live, the site experienced significant downtime, drawing criticism and mockery online, particularly from an Nvidia engineer who highlighted the irony of such a high-value domain failing under load.
The article also touches on how other crypto executives are diversifying their investments—from buying real estate and power plants to expanding business operations—signaling a broader trend of cryptocurrency leaders integrating into mainstream economic and technological landscapes.
Odaily星球日报02/09 10:12
