OpenAI has added another premium domain name to its collection by acquiring Chat.com, which now redirects to the company’s AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the acquisition.
Chat.com is a historic domain, originally registered in September 1996. Last year, it was reported that Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, had purchased the domain for $15.5 million, making it one of the highest publicly reported domain sales of all time.
In March of this year, Shah revealed that he had sold Chat.com to an undisclosed buyer. Later, Shah confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that OpenAI was the buyer, suggesting that he may have been compensated in OpenAI shares.
It appears that the domain has not changed hands since its acquisition last year, which suggests that OpenAI is not yet using Chat.com as a new home for ChatGPT — meaning this transaction likely doesn’t indicate a rebranding effort.
OpenAI has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.