Malaysian tech entrepreneur sells AI.com for US$76 Million after buying it for US$100 as a child
Malaysian tech entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail has reportedly earned US$70 million after selling the highly coveted domain name AI.com, a web address he originally bought for just US$100 when he was only 10 years old.
- Arsyan Ismail sold AI.com for US$70 million in April 2025, marking one of the biggest domain-name sales on record.
- He bought the domain in 1993 for US$100 using his mother’s credit card, simply because “AI” matched his initials.
- The buyer was Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, and the sale highlights the explosive value of digital assets in the AI era.
MALAYSIA: Malaysian technology entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail has captured global attention after reportedly selling the premium web domain AI.com in April 2025 for US$70 million.
Remarkably, Arsyan first acquired the domain in 1993, when he was just 10 years old, paying only US$100 using his mother’s credit card.
He later revealed that there was no grand vision behind the purchase. The letters “AI” simply happened to match his initials, and he did not anticipate the rise of artificial intelligence or the domain’s future value.
A Bewildered Mother and a Random Credit Card Charge
At the time of purchase, Arsyan’s mother was reportedly confused by the transaction, seeing only an unfamiliar charge on her credit card statement.
Domains were still a foreign concept in the early 1990s, and the idea of a web address being valuable was far from mainstream.
The domain was listed for US$100 million in March 2025 before eventually being sold to Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com.
Although the final price was lower than the listing, the US$70 million transaction is believed to be among the largest publicly disclosed domain-name sales in history, underscoring the immense demand for AI-related digital assets.
A Veteran of the Tech World
Now 43 years old, Arsyan has spent more than three decades in the technology sector.
He has worked on or contributed to various internet platforms, including Kawanster, Nuffnang, and Friendster, before founding 1337 Tech in 2013.
An early adopter of Bitcoin, Arsyan remains actively involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency development. He is also known for collecting rare digital assets such as ultra-short email addresses, premium web domains, and Ethereum Name Service (ENS) identifiers.
Advice for High-Stakes Deals
Reflecting on the landmark sale, Arsyan shared a key lesson from negotiating at the highest levels of wealth.
“Don’t over-negotiate or try to bait ultra-high-net-worth individuals,” he said.
“You could risk losing the deal. That’s my main advice for transactions at this level.”
