Feb 12 • 09:06 UTC 🇮🇳 India Aaj Tak (Hindi)

Became a billionaire overnight by selling a 300 rupee domain for 600 crores

A young entrepreneur turned a minimal investment in the domain AI.com into a $70 million sale, illustrating the skyrocketing value of internet domain names.

In a remarkable story from the early days of the internet, a ten-year-old boy in 1993 purchased the domain AI.com for a mere few hundred rupees when artificial intelligence was not on anyone's radar. Fast forward to today, that domain has sold for approximately $70 million, or over 600 crores in Indian currency, marking one of the largest domain sales in history. This transaction underscores not only the evolution of internet trends but also how the valuation of domain names can change dramatically over time.

The buyer of AI.com is Arsyaan Ismail, a Malaysian tech entrepreneur who registered the domain as a hobby when the internet was still nascent. At that time, domain registration fees were low, and no one anticipated that 'AI' would become a prominent term in technology discussions. The sale of AI.com showcases the massive growth of artificial intelligence and its pervasive impact on various sectors, indicating a shift in how businesses and individuals perceive value in digital assets.

The sale highlights the importance of timing and foresight in the tech world, as well as the financial rewards that can come from investing in seemingly trivial internet properties. This phenomenon not only reflects the monetary potential tied to domain names but also poses questions about the speculative nature of the digital real estate market, where prices can fluctuate wildly based on emerging trends and societal shifts.

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