#ICYMI: Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek buys AI.com for USD 70 million

The founder of cryptocurrency trading site Crypto.com is acquiring AI.com for USD 70 million, a move aimed at accelerating its lead in the artificial intelligence race.

AI.com sold

Dubbed the biggest website name deal yet

Based on reports, Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, decided to acquire AI.com for its debut in a Super Bowl ad from Malaysian tech entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail for USD 70 million (around PHP 4 billion).

The platform is set to offer a personal "AI agent" that users can tap to send messages, use apps, and trade stocks.

Last year, an opportunity came up for me to acquire this domain, and I thought if you take a long-term view — 10 to 20 years — that [AI] is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime. And so it would be a good investment, Marszalek told the Financial Times.

The transaction value was reported to be paid entirely in cryptocurrency.

Marszalek introduced Crypto.com in the market a decade ago, with the latter’s growth now pegged at around USD 1.5 billion. It also sealed major deals with the Trump family's media firm, Trump Media & Technology Group.

Five years ago, Crypto.com likewise clinched a USD 700-million multi-decade deal for the naming rights to a Los Angeles stadium.

There is a big desire for us to own this touchpoint, you get commoditised. I thought it was quite interesting that one person can own two domains that stand for such important categories, Marszalek said.

Source: Financial Times