Rarely does a single domain purchase make waves across the tech, crypto, and advertising worlds all at once. But that’s exactly what happened when Kris Marszalek, the co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, snapped up AI.com for a jaw-dropping $70 million—paid entirely in cryptocurrency. According to the Financial Times, this record-shattering deal eclipses all previous publicly confirmed domain sales, leaving industry veterans and newcomers alike scrambling to keep up with the implications.
The magnitude of this purchase isn’t just in the price tag. Marszalek’s move—completed in April 2025 after AI.com was initially listed for $100 million the previous month—signals his determination to dominate not just the crypto sector, but the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence as well. Broker Larry Fischer, who facilitated the sale, told the Financial Times, “With assets like AI.com, there are no substitutes. When one becomes available, the opportunity may never present itself again.” The seller of the domain was identified as Arsyan Ismail, though their identity remains largely a mystery to the public.
To put this deal in perspective, the previous record-holder was CarInsurance.com, which sold for $49.7 million in 2010. Other notable sales include VacationRentals.com at $35 million, Voice.com at $30 million, and Sex.com, which has sold twice for over $13 million each time. Yet, none of these come close to the $70 million Marszalek shelled out for AI.com, paid entirely in cryptocurrency—a move that, while bold, is not entirely out of character for the crypto industry, which is known for its appetite for risk and spectacle.
But Marszalek wasn’t content to simply sit on his new digital trophy. He had big plans in store for AI.com, and he chose none other than the Super Bowl—the most-watched television event in the United States—as the stage for its grand debut. On February 9, 2026, during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 60, AI.com aired a 30-second commercial urging viewers to create a handle on the website. The ad, titled “Introducing AI.com,” promised a personal AI agent capable of organizing work, sending messages, executing actions across apps, building projects, and more. The pitch: AI.com would offer users a digital assistant that doesn’t just chat, but actually gets things done.
The response was immediate—and overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that the AI.com website crashed under the weight of the traffic generated by the Super Bowl spot. Viewers took to social media to air their frustrations, with some even voicing their complaints from the ADWEEK office. Marszalek himself responded on X (formerly Twitter), posting, “Insane traffic levels. We prepared for scale, but not for THIS,” punctuating his message with three fire emojis. The crash was a testament to both the power of Super Bowl advertising and the intense curiosity surrounding Marszalek’s latest venture.
Once the website was restored, users found themselves able to sign up and create their own personal AI agents. According to a company release, these agents would be able to “organize work, send messages, execute actions across apps, build projects, and more.” What’s more, the agents were designed to autonomously build out missing features and capabilities in order to complete real-world tasks. Improvements made by one agent would be shared across millions of agents on the network, “massively increasing the utility of each agent for ai.com users,” as the company put it. To address privacy concerns, user data would be encrypted with individual keys—a nod to the growing demand for digital security in the age of AI.
Marszalek, who will serve as CEO of both Crypto.com and AI.com, sees this as a pivotal moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence. “We are at a fundamental shift in AI’s evolution as we rapidly move beyond basic chats to AI agents actually getting things done for humans,” he said in a press release. The move is consistent with his established playbook of betting big on category-defining brands. Crypto.com itself launched as Monaco in 2016 before acquiring its now-iconic domain for an estimated $5 to $10 million. Not stopping there, Marszalek later struck a $700 million deal to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles to Crypto.com Arena and spent $100 million on a Matt Damon ad campaign.
AI.com’s Super Bowl ad was part of a broader trend during this year’s big game. According to iSpot, 23 percent of advertisers—15 out of 66 ads—promoted AI and AI companies, including heavyweights like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Squarespace also used its Super Bowl spot to encourage viewers to claim their domain. The fact that Marszalek’s ad stood out amid this “cacophony of AI ads,” as ADWEEK described it, speaks volumes about the power of a memorable domain and a well-timed launch.
Of course, the question remains: will this $70 million investment pay off? Marszalek seems unfazed by the skeptics. He told the Financial Times he’s already received “an absolutely insane amount of money” in offers for the domain but intends to keep it. Reflecting on his earlier success with Crypto.com, Marszalek said, “When we started Crypto.com there were around a thousand different exchanges, and we somehow managed to make it work. We will make this work one way or another.”
Meanwhile, Crypto.com continues to expand its reach. The company claims more than 150 million retail users and roughly $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Just days before the AI.com launch, Crypto.com spun out its prediction markets business into a standalone app called OG, also timed to coincide with Super Bowl activity. It’s clear that Marszalek is betting on synergy between his crypto empire and his new AI venture, with the Super Bowl serving as the ultimate launchpad.
For now, AI.com stands as a symbol of both ambition and audacity in the tech world. Whether it will deliver returns commensurate with its record-breaking price remains to be seen. But one thing’s certain: Kris Marszalek has made sure the world is watching.