AI.com sold for $70M

When the Man Who Onboarded 150 Million Users to Crypto Turns to Autonomous AI

What happens when the executive who helped bring crypto to over 150 million users decides that autonomous AI is the next major shift?
That’s the question now circulating across the tech and AI landscape following Kris Marszalek’s announcement of ai.com, a new consumer-focused autonomous AI agent platform.

Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, revealed that ai.com is scheduled to launch on February 8, 2026, backed by a high-profile Super Bowl LX commercial on NBC. From the outset, it’s clear this is not a quiet beta release—it’s a mainstream debut.

Beyond Chatbots: AI That Takes Action

ai.com is deliberately distancing itself from the chatbot label. It’s not positioned as another conversational interface layered on top of existing language models, nor as a tool designed for developers or enterprise teams.

Instead, the platform aims to give everyday users access to AI agents that operate independently—systems designed to carry out tasks, make decisions within defined boundaries, and act on a user’s behalf rather than simply respond to prompts.

From a Record-Breaking Domain to a Full-Scale Launch

The foundation of ai.com began with the acquisition of the ai.com domain in April 2025. Reported by the Financial Times as a $70 million deal, the purchase is widely believed to be the most expensive domain acquisition ever recorded. The transaction was brokered by Larry Fischer of GetYourDomain.com and paid entirely in digital assets, with the seller remaining anonymous.

For comparison, the previous public record for a domain sale hovered around $50 million, and ai.com itself had last sold in 2023 for roughly $11 million.

Since then, Marszalek has quietly assembled a dedicated AI team and built the platform’s underlying infrastructure. Pairing the product launch with a Super Bowl advertisement—where a 30-second slot can cost more than $7 million—signals a clear intent: rapid consumer adoption at massive scale.

It’s a strategy reminiscent of Crypto.com’s growth playbook, which included major sponsorships, arena naming rights, and repeated Super Bowl appearances.

Why $70 Million for AI.com May Actually Be a Bargain

While some observers have labeled the $70 million price tag as excessive, there’s a strong argument that it represents a strategic bargain rather than an overpayment.

Ultra-premium domains like AI.com are not just web addresses—they are digital assets with potentially unlimited long-term ROI, especially when paired with an AI-native product. In that context, $70 million is a relatively small price to pay for a name that is instantly recognizable, globally memorable, and permanently relevant to one of the most transformative technologies of our time.

Owning AI.com also fundamentally changes the rules of discovery. At that level, you don’t compete within search engines—you exist beyond them. After billions of people see AI.com even once during a Super Bowl broadcast, the need to “search for it” largely disappears. The domain becomes the destination.

This is the often-underestimated power of a truly premium domain: it compresses marketing, branding, and trust into a single, unforgettable asset.

What ai.com Enables Users to Do

At its core, ai.com allows users to create a personal AI agent in about 60 seconds. Once activated, the agent can autonomously handle tasks such as:

• executing stock trades

• managing calendars and scheduling

• sending messages and communications

• automating workflows

• updating online profiles, including dating platforms

All activity takes place within a secured environment. User data is encrypted with individualized keys, and agents are constrained by permission settings defined by the user.

One of the platform’s most notable features is its network-level learning model. When an agent develops a new capability to complete a task, that improvement can be shared across the broader agent network, allowing the system as a whole to evolve continuously.

The Long-Term Vision

Marszalek frames ai.com as part of a broader shift in how AI is used:

“We are moving past the era of basic AI conversations and into a phase where AI agents actually get things done for people. Our vision is a decentralized network of billions of agents that continuously improve and share those improvements, dramatically accelerating agent capabilities and pushing us closer to AGI.”

The platform will launch with a free tier offering core functionality, while paid subscriptions unlock advanced features, higher usage limits, and expanded autonomy. The company is also exploring integrations with financial services, agent marketplaces, and hybrid social networks connecting humans and AI agents.

Why ai.com Matters in the Agentic AI Race

The race toward autonomous AI agents has intensified throughout 2025 and into 2026. OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Microsoft, and a growing ecosystem of startups are all advancing agent-based systems. However, most existing solutions remain geared toward technical users, API-driven workflows, or enterprise deployments.

ai.com is betting that the real opportunity lies not in raw capability, but in accessibility. No technical setup. No specialized hardware. No learning curve. Users simply create an agent, set permissions, and let it operate.

That simplicity will be tested quickly, especially in areas like finance and productivity automation, where regulatory compliance, data privacy, and trust become critical.

Applying the Crypto Growth Playbook to AI

Marszalek appears to be following a familiar strategy. Crypto.com scaled through aggressive consumer marketing, high-visibility partnerships, and a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions. Today, the company supports more than 150 million users globally.

Applying that same operational and marketing framework to AI agents is a calculated move. The Super Bowl ad isn’t just about awareness—it’s a signal that ai.com intends to compete for mainstream attention alongside the largest AI companies in the world, from day one.

Final Thoughts

The ambition behind ai.com is unmistakable, and the execution timeline is bold. Launching a consumer AI agent platform with Super Bowl-level exposure is the kind of move that can either define an entirely new category or serve as a cautionary tale.

Marszalek’s track record lends credibility to the effort, particularly when it comes to scaling consumer platforms and navigating complex regulatory environments. The real test will be whether ai.com can deliver truly autonomous, reliable agents across finance, productivity, and everyday life—without compromising security or user trust.

If successful, ai.com could be the platform that makes AI agents as ubiquitous as mobile apps. Either way, the competition in consumer AI just became far more interesting.