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OpenAI recently made a big move by buying Chat.com, which was registered in 1996 and is one of the longest and most well-known domains on the internet. Today, users who type Chat.com will be automatically led to ChatGPT, the widely-used AI chatbot developed by OpenAI.
The story was made a little more intriguing by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who tweeted a vague “Chat.com” in an apparent hint at the acquisition. Later, a representative for OpenAI confirmed the purchase by email to TechCrunch, but they wouldn’t say how much it cost.
With this update, OpenAI gains a valuable asset that will help it make AI easier to understand and use.
Chat.com: A Premium Domain’s Historic Sale
Chat.com is a well-known website that was created in September 1996. The premium “Chat” keyword is among the most desirable in the tech business, which has contributed to its ever-increasing popularity and worth.
Last year, Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, made headlines by purchasing Chat.com for an astonishing $15.5 million, marking it as one of the largest publicly reported domain sales in history.
In March, Shah dropped hints that the domain had been sold to an anonymous bidder, leading to speculation. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) today, he revealed that OpenAI had bought Chat.com and verified the buyer’s identity. Although the details are still unknown, Shah also hinted that he had gotten OpenAI shares as part of the deal.
BREAKING NEWS: Secret acquirer of $15+ million domain chat .com revealed and it’s exactly who you’d think.
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you may recall that I announced earlier this year that I had acquired the domain chat .com for an “8 figure sum”… https://t.co/nv1IyddP5z
— dharmesh (@dharmesh) November 6, 2024
