\n<\/p>\n
Just in time to create a new Super Bowl ad, Crypto.com founder Kris Marszalek has made the priciest domain purchase in history, buying AI.com for $70 million, according to the Financial Times<\/a>. The deal, paid entirely in cryptocurrency to an unknown seller, shatters previous records. (Broker Larry Fischer, who facilitated the sale, is presumably celebrating his good fortune.)<\/p>\n Marszalek plans to debut the site during Sunday\u2019s big game, offering consumers a personal AI agent for messaging, app usage, and stock trading. \u201cIf you take a long-term view \u2014 10 to 20 years \u2013 [AI] is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime,\u201d he told the FT.<\/p>\n The purchase rewrites the domain record books \u2014 not that crypto industry itself is known for its restraint when it comes to spending. Previously, CarInsurance.com held the crown at $49.7 million (2010), followed by VacationRentals.com ($35 million in 2007) and Voice.com ($30 million in 2019). Other eye-popping sales include PrivateJet.com ($30 million), 360.com ($17 million), and Sex.com, which has sold twice for over $13 million each time, though its second owner went bankrupt <\/a>trying to monetize it.<\/p>\n \u201cWith assets like AI.com, there are no substitutes,\u201d Fischer told the FT. \u201cWhen one becomes available, the opportunity may never present itself again.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether these mega-dollar domains actually deliver returns remains an open question. But for Marszalek, who already owns Crypto.com and dropped $700 million on stadium naming rights, owning two category-defining domains is apparently worth the outlay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n