Did OpenAI just spend more than $10 million on a URL?
On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com. It automatically routes to OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
Prior to this, the domain was owned by Dharmesh Shah, the founder and CTO of HubSpot. In early 2023, Shah purchased the chat.com domain for $10 million. However, just a few months later, he announced that he had sold the domain, though he wouldn’t disclose the details of the sale or the buyer. Notably, he did confirm that he sold the domain for more than he had originally paid for it.
“The reason I bought chat.com is simple: I think Chat-based UX (#ChatUX) is the next big thing in software. Communicating with computers/software through a natural language interface is much more intuitive. This is made possible by Generative A.I,” Shah wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the purchase — which chat.com briefly redirected to before he resold it. After the sale, Domain Name Wire noted that Shah had mentioned another buyer had been interested in the purchase and speculated he’d flipped it to them.
While the domain’s full ownership history remains unclear, domain sales database NameBio reports that chat.com sold for $15.5 million on March 28, 2023. This timing aligns with Shah’s LinkedIn post from May 25, 2023, announcing his sale after two months of ownership. OpenAI declined The Verge’s request for comment; Shah didn’t reply to a request for comment in time for publication. TechCrunch reported that OpenAI confirmed it acquired the domain.
The drop of “GPT” from the chat.com domain aligns with OpenAI’s recent rebranding efforts. In September, the company announced a new series of reasoning models starting with “o1.” At the time, former chief research officer Bob McGrew told The Verge he hoped that the o1 series would mark “the first step of newer, more sane names” to better communicate the company’s work. Still, as TechCrunch reported, the company isn’t hosting ChatGPT on chat.com, so this likely doesn’t represent an official name change.
People hoarding “vanity domains” is a tale as old as the Internet itself. Just a few months ago, AI startup Friend spent $1.8 million on the domain friend.com after raising $2.5 million in funding. For OpenAI, more than $10 million is a drop in the bucket — the startup just raised $6.6 billion.
On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com. It automatically routes to OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT. Prior to this, the domain was owned by Dharmesh Shah, the founder and CTO of HubSpot. In early 2023, Shah purchased the chat.com domain for $10 million. However, just…
Recent Posts
- NordVPN Coupons and Deals: 77% Off in June 2026
- You don’t need to spend a fortune on good audio — these 20 headphones under AU$100 have hundreds of 5-star user reviews
- Nintendo confirms it will sell a new Switch 2 with replaceable battery in the EU
- Apple begins requiring age verification for App Store use in Texas
- The co-creator of Scavengers Reign is working on a new show for Netflix
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023