Back in 1993, when dial-up internet was still a novelty and most households had never logged online, a 10-year-old boy quietly registered a short, two-letter domain name using his mother’s credit card. The cost was minimal — roughly ₹300 at the time. What seemed like a casual decision would, three decades later, evolve into one of the most expensive publicly disclosed domain transactions in history.

That domain was AI.com.

In April 2025, AI.com was sold for $70 million (approximately ₹600 crore) in a cryptocurrency transaction. The buyer was Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, while the seller was Malaysian tech entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail, who had originally secured the domain as a child for around $100.

The platform officially re-emerged during Super Bowl LX, marking a bold step into the rapidly growing world of “agentic AI.”

From Initials to Internet Gold

According to Malaysian media reports, Ismail did not acquire AI.com because he foresaw the rise of artificial intelligence. The letters simply reflected his initials. At the time, Malaysia’s internet infrastructure was still in its early stages, and domains were inexpensive and widely available.

For years, the domain remained low-profile. However, as artificial intelligence became central to global innovation — powering chatbots, automation systems, financial trading tools, and enterprise platforms — ultra-short domains gained enormous strategic and branding value.

Two-letter .com domains are extremely rare, and AI.com is among the most powerful and category-defining digital assets in existence.

A Record-Breaking Digital Asset Sale

Industry reports suggest the $70 million deal now ranks as the largest publicly disclosed domain name sale to date, surpassing the $49.7 million sale of CarInsurance.com in 2010.

The entire payment was completed in cryptocurrency, underlining how digital assets are increasingly being transacted in native digital currencies.

Following the acquisition, Crypto.com unveiled its new AI-focused platform during Super Bowl LX. The launch introduced what the company describes as “agentic AI” — autonomous AI agents capable of executing tasks such as messaging, stock trading, workflow automation, and cross-app operations.

Marszalek reportedly emphasized that owning a category-defining domain like AI.com is strategically critical in a competitive AI landscape, helping prevent the brand from being commoditized as the sector grows.

The Vision Behind AI.com

The new AI.com platform aims to offer users a personalized AI agent that can manage daily tasks independently. While access will reportedly begin with a free tier, advanced capabilities may be offered through subscription plans.

Future possibilities being explored include:

• Financial service integrations

• AI agent marketplaces

• Human-AI collaborative networks

Marszalek has articulated a broader vision of a decentralized network where billions of AI agents continuously improve and share capabilities — accelerating the journey toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

He is not alone in this optimism. In 2024, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, suggested that highly capable AI agents acting as “super-competent colleagues” could become AI’s breakthrough application in the near future.

A Quiet Entrepreneur’s Long Game

While not widely known internationally, Arsyan Ismail has been active in Malaysia’s tech ecosystem for years. He worked on early digital ventures, contributed to the regional startup scene, and was an early participant in cryptocurrency adoption.

Reports indicate he received offers even higher than $70 million after listing the domain in 2025, but ultimately finalized the deal at that figure. He later advised entrepreneurs against “over-negotiating with billionaires.”