NEW DELHI, Feb 12: Call it smiling of lady luck or his visionary power, in a remarkable display of long-term digital asset investment, Malaysian tech entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail sold the premium domain ai.com for a whopping $70 million (approximately Rs 634 crore).
He originally registered the domain in 1993 for just $100 (roughly Rs 300 at the time). The sale is considered one of the largest publicly disclosed domain name transactions in internet history, media reports said.
At age 10, Arsyan Ismail bought the domain using his mother’s credit card. He initially chose the name because “AI” matched his initials (Arsyan Ismail), not because he predicted the future explosion of artificial intelligence. His mother reportedly had no idea what a domain name was and was puzzled by the unfamiliar charge on her credit card bill.
Ismail sold the domain AI.com to Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek for $70 million (approximately Rs 634 crore) last year with reports suggesting the transaction was completed entirely in cryptocurrency.
The domain was relaunched during Super Bowl LX, with Crypto.com using it for a new platform focused on “agentic AI.” Marszalek later said acquiring a premium name like AI.com was essential to prevent his company from being “commoditised” as competition in the artificial intelligence space heats up.
Notably, Ismail had previously received offers close to $100 million before agreeing to the $70 million deal. Reflecting on the sale, he advised others not to “over-negotiate with a billionaire.” Though he has largely kept a low profile, Arsyan Ismail has been deeply involved in Malaysia’s tech ecosystem for years. His journey spans early social networking ventures, positions at Nuffnang and Friendster, and eventually founding 1337 Tech. He was also an early adopter of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Ismail began his career as a Senior Programmer at Nuffnang (2005 -2006), followed by a stint as a Software Engineer at Packet One Networks (2006 -2008). He later worked as a Senior Web Developer at Friendster (2008 – 2010) before joining YTL Communications as an Application Developer from 2010 to 2012. His profile also notes that he has been working independently with OpenAI since January 2025.
(Rohit Kumar)
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