OpenAI spent over $10 million to buy a domain? Chat.com now leads to ChatGPT

On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on social network X (formerly Twitter): chat.com. When users go to that URL, they are automatically redirected to ChatGPT, a popular chatbot from OpenAI.

The chat.com domain was previously owned by HubSpot founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah. In early 2023, Shah purchased the domain for $10 million. However, a few months later, he announced the sale of the domain, without disclosing the details of the deal or the name of the buyer, but confirmed that the amount was higher than the original value.

“The reason I bought chat.com is simple: I believe chat-based UX (#ChatUX) is the next big thing in software. Communicating with computers and programs through natural language is much more intuitive, and generative AI has made this possible,” Shah wrote in a post on LinkedIn when he announced the purchase.

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For a short time, chat.com redirected to his LinkedIn profile before he resold the domain. After the sale, Domain Name Wire noted that another buyer had also expressed interest in the domain, suggesting that Shah may have sold it to that particular client.

After the sale, Domain Name Wire noted that another buyer had also expressed interest in the domain, suggesting that Shah may have sold it to that particular client.

Although the exact ownership history of the domain remains unclear, the NameBio database shows that chat.com was sold for $15.5 million on March 28, 2023. This timeline coincides with Shah’s May 25, 2023 post on LinkedIn, in which he revealed the domain was sold two months after purchase. OpenAI declined to comment on the deal for The Verge, and Shah had not responded to a request at the time of publication. However, TechCrunch confirmed that OpenAI had purchased the domain.

The Verge.

The move to the neutral name chat.com, getting rid of the “GPT” reference, is consistent with OpenAI’s recent rebranding efforts. In September, the company announced a new line of reasoning models, starting with the “o1” series. At the time, former OpenAI chief scientist Bob McGrew told The Verge that the o1 series was “a first step toward clearer and more appropriate names” that better capture the essence of the company’s work. However, as TechCrunch notes, OpenAI is not yet listing ChatGPT on chat.com, so this is probably not an official renaming.

The Verge.

The purchase of “prestige domains” is an old story in the Internet industry. Just a few months ago, startup Friend spent $1.8 million on the domain friend.com after raising a $2.5 million investment. For OpenAI, a domain valued at over $10 million is a drop in the bucket, as the startup recently raised $6.6 billion in funding.

Friend.com