Foto theindependent.sg
The buyer of the domain in the early 1990s was Malaysian Arsian Ismail, writes theindependent.sg.
It is noteworthy that at the time of the acquisition, there was no large-scale business strategy behind this decision, nor a forecast of the development of the technology market. The domain was bought for a simple reason – it coincided with the initials of the owner and appeared to be a short, memorable and aesthetically pleasing Internet address.
At that time, the acronym AI was not associated with global technological transformation. Artificial intelligence was on the periphery of public attention, and the commercial potential of this field was not obvious.
Technological transformation helped
However, the situation changed dramatically over the following decades. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the key drivers of the global technology industry. Startups are being created, multi-billion dollar companies are being formed, investments are being attracted, and business models of entire industries are being restructured on the basis of AI solutions.
Against this backdrop, the short and versatile domain ai.com has become a strategic digital asset with high market value. The $70 million deal was one of the largest domain name sales in history.
In terms of investment returns, the result looks impressive: the asset appreciated 700,000 times in value. History demonstrates that in the digital economy, long-term ownership of high-quality assets can bring super-high returns even if there is no initial expectation of large-scale growth.
This case also underscores a broader principle: the value of an asset is often determined not by its original purpose, but by its context and market dynamics. What looks like a simple and neutral resource at the time of purchase can eventually become a strategic element of the global infrastructure.
