On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman published a simple URL on X:chat.com that now points to ChatGPT.

https://t.co/n494J9IuEN

— Sam Altman (@sama) 6 November 2024

This domain was previously owned by Dharmesh Shah, founder and CTO of HubSpot. In early 2023, Mr. Shah bought chat.com for $15.5 million and a few months later announced the sale of the site without disclosing the buyer or the final price, although he confirmed it was sold for more than he paid. threshold 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 and possible thanks to Generative AI,” Shah wrote on LinkedIn has happened.” when it first announced the acquisition. Originally chat.com briefly redirected to this post before reselling it.

Mr Shah confirmed OpenAI was the buyer on X and suggested he received shares rather than cash as payment.

BREAKING NEWS: The secret buyer of the domain name chat .com worth over $15 million has been revealed and it turns out that this person is exactly who you think he is.

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you may remember that earlier this year I announced that I had purchased the chat .com domain name for an “8-figure sum”… https://t.co/nv1IyddP5z

— dharmesh (@dharmash) 6 November 2024

This move to “Chat.com” aligns with OpenAI’s rebranding strategy. The company launched a new set of reasoning models in September, starting with “o1” and targeting “more sane names” that would better reflect its work, former chief research officer Bob McGrew told The Verge.

The practice of securing “vanity domain names” 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 acquisition, whether in cash or stock, is a small investment.