Malaysian entrepreneur bought AI.com domain for Rs 300 in 1993, sells it for Rs 634 crore: ‘Greatest ROI in history’

In April 2025, Ismail sold the domain to Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek for $70 million (around Rs 634 crore), in a deal reportedly completed entirely in cryptocurrency. Multiple reports have confirmed the figure, making it the highest publicly disclosed domain sale to date. The previous record was set in 2010 when CarInsurance.com was sold for $49.7 million.

🚨 A Malaysian man bought the domain AI .com in 1993 for just ₹300. In 2025, he sold AI .com for around ₹634 crore. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/15osguhQEU

— Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) February 12, 2026

The domain officially returned to the spotlight during Super Bowl LX, when Crypto.com introduced a new “agentic AI” platform under the AI.com banner, promoting personal AI agents capable of sending messages, trading stocks and handling tasks across apps.

Marszalek has said that securing a name like AI.com was critical to ensuring his company wouldn’t be “commoditised” in the intensifying AI race. While he has largely stayed out of the limelight, Ismail has been involved in Malaysia’s tech ecosystem for years. His journey includes early social networking ventures, roles at companies like Nuffnang and Friendster, and later founding 1337 Tech. He was also an early supporter of Bitcoin and digital assets.

Interestingly, reports suggest he had received offers touching $100 million when he put the domain up for sale in 2025. Still, he chose to close the deal at $70 million, later advising others not to “over-negotiate with a billionaire”.

The story quickly caught fire online, with social media users weighing in on whether the sale was driven by foresight or pure luck. A X user wrote, “Is it a coincidence or he has faar vision , anyway spending 300 hundred bucks and sustaining with it till now is also a example of patience if he was not using this domain regularly.”

Another user wrote, “This has to be the greatest ROI in history. Imagine buying something for the price of a coffee and selling it for enough to buy a private island 30 years later. Absolute legendary patience.” A third person commented, “That’s not luck, that’s vision. Some people invest in trends, legends invest in the future.”

A fourth commenter wrote, “The man must be a visionary…knowing in 1993 that in 2025 the AI will be such a big thing….OR …..he just got lucky with his bet.”