MALAYSIA: Malaysian technopreneur Arsyan Ismail has shocked the internet by selling the web address he owned, a premium domain AI.com, for US$70 million, setting a new record for the highest-priced domain sale ever disclosed publicly.
The buyer is Crypto.com, led by founder and chief executive Kris Marszalek. The transaction was completed in April 2025 and later revealed publicly ahead of the domain’s Super Bowl debut. AI.com now redirects to a personal AI agent platform that launched during Super Bowl LX on Feb 8. The high-profile reveal drew global attention, placing the two-letter domain at the centre of the artificial intelligence boom.
Seasia News reported on Feb 11, 2026, that the US$70 million deal ranks above past headline-grabbing domain sales such as Voice.com at US$30 million and 360.com at US$17 million. The AI.com sale now sits at the top of the list of publicly known transactions.
Two-letter .com domains are extremely rare; only 676 exist as of this report. Most are tightly held by corporations or long-term investors. In a market where branding matters, a short, direct web address carries significant commercial value.
The sale reflects growing demand for premium digital assets linked to artificial intelligence. As AI tools become part of daily business and consumer life, companies are willing to pay a premium for simple, memorable branding.
Arsyan Ismail is no stranger to the tech industry. According to SAYS, he began building internet-based projects as a teenager in the late 1990s. In 2003, he helped build Malaysia’s early social networking platform Kawanster. By 2005, he was a senior programmer at Nuffnang, one of Malaysia’s first blog advertising networks.
His experience later led him to a senior web developer role at Friendster. In 2013, he founded 1337 Tech, a startup focused on app development for businesses. He was also an early participant in cryptocurrency projects from 2014 onwards, working on blockchain-related development and consulting. Today, his focus remains on blockchain, Bitcoin, and Ethereum applications.
Beyond AI.com, Arsyan is known for owning rare digital assets. “I own the shortest email in the world, [email protected],” he told SAYS. “I also own g.gg, the shortest URL in the world.” He added that he owns aaa.eth, a three-letter Ethereum Name Service address, as well as vanity phone numbers in Malaysia and New York. “I own the most vanity Maxis number in Malaysia: +6012-222-2222; and the most vanity number in New York, USA: +1-212-222-2222,” he said.
Reflecting on the AI.com deal, Arsyan shared a simple lesson from negotiating at the highest level. “Never overnegotiate and or play fishing with them, you might end up blowing the deal,” he advised. “That’s my only advice when you are making a deal at this level.”
The sale signals something bigger than a headline number. It shows how digital real estate has matured into a serious asset class. A short domain name can now command the price of a prime commercial property. It also underscores Southeast Asia’s presence in the global technology economy. A Malaysian tech entrepreneur was behind the second-most-expensive domain transaction in internet history.
AI.com’s US$70 million move shows how artificial intelligence has altered demand for branding, identity, and online real estate. In the current tech climate, such two letters can be worth even tens of millions.
