On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com, which now redirects to ChatGPT.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 6, 2024
This domain was previously owned by Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot’s founder and CTO. In early 2023, Mr Shah bought chat.com for $15.5 million, and a few months later, he announced its sale without disclosing the buyer or final price, though he confirmed it was sold for more than he paid, the Verge reported.
“The reason I bought chat.com is simple: I believe Chat-based UX (#ChatUX) is the next big thing in software. Interacting with computers through natural language is more intuitive, made possible by Generative A.I.,” Shah wrote on LinkedIn when he first announced the purchase. Initially, chat.com briefly redirected to this post before he resold it.
Mr Shah confirmed on X that OpenAI was the buyer, suggesting he received shares instead of cash as payment.
BREAKING NEWS: Secret acquirer of $15+ million domain chat .com revealed and it’s exactly who you’d think.
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you may recall that I announced earlier this year that I had acquired the domain chat .com for an “8 figure sum”… https://t.co/nv1IyddP5z
— dharmesh (@dharmesh) November 6, 2024
This shift to “chat.com” aligns with OpenAI’s rebranding strategy. In September, the company launched a new line of reasoning models starting with “o1,” aiming for “more sane names” to better reflect its work, as former chief research officer Bob McGrew told The Verge.
The practice of securing “vanity domains” has a long history online. Recently, AI startup Friend spent $1.8 million on friend.com after raising $2.5 million in funding. For OpenAI, which recently raised $6.6 billion, a $10+ million purchase-whether in cash or stock- is a small investment.
