The $15.5M chat.com Mystery, Solved

So, something interesting happened yesterday.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may recall that in March of 2023, that I acquired chat.com for an “8 figure sum“ (which was later reported as being $15.5M).

You may also recall when I shared that I had sold it, just two months after acquiring it, to an undisclosed buyer.

Well, Sam Altman just confirmed (in true minimalist fashion) that OpenAI was the buyer.

Quick backstory: I've known Sam for over a decade, since before OpenAI existed. I've always been a huge fan of what they're building (the platform, the developer experience, the vision — all of it). And I've always wanted to own OpenAI shares.

Domain Valuation in the AI Era

The official announcement rekindled my thoughts about domain valuations in the AI era.

As it happens, one of our most popular agents for hire on *agent.ai* is the Website Domain Valuation Expert (with 32.8K executions!). Turns out, a lot of people are curious about what their domains might be worth.

Here's what's particularly interesting about domain valuations right now:

1. The "standard" valuation metrics (length, keywords, extension) still matter

2. But there's now an "AI premium" that's hard to quantify

3. The strategic value to AI companies can be massive (when you're valued at billions, domain investments are relatively small!)

What's even more fascinating is how this deal happened. I'm not really comfortable profiting off friends, and when you're dealing with companies you deeply believe in (like OpenAI), the conventional "maximize price" playbook goes out the window.

Sometimes, the perfect outcome isn't about maximizing dollars — it's about finding the right home for something valuable and creating a partnership that works for everyone.

How The Domain Valuation Agent Works

Let me quickly show you how the Website Domain Valuation Expert on agent.ai actually works. When you feed it a domain like chat.com, it analyzes over 40 different factors across three main categories:

1. Raw Equity:

• Everything from exact match searches to keyword value

• Technical factors like length (shorter is better)

• Usability metrics like ease of spelling and typing

• SEO health and backlink profiles

• Even things like "easiness to write first few characters with left hand on QWERTY keyboard" (yes, really!)

• and more!

2. Market Budget:

• Buyer intent and market saturation

• Economic conditions and industry relevance

• Potential buyers' fundraising size (particularly interesting in the AI space)

• Market liquidity and growth rate

• and more!

3. Perceived Value:

• Cultural relevance and technological advancement alignment

• Ultra-premium status

• Market hype (which, in AI, is definitely a factor)

• Hold time willingness

• and more!

In chat.com's case, it hit the highest possible scores in almost every category. The agent valued it between $15-20 million — which, according to reports, turned out to be pretty accurate.

Try It Yourself

If you're curious about your own domain's value, you can try the agent here: https://agent.ai/agent/xaymmw4g7obsfitc

(Though fair warning: If you're hoping to sell to OpenAI, the agent hasn't quite figured out how to factor in the "friend discount" yet)

Hope you find the agent useful. Would love to hear what other interesting domains you discover.

-Dharmesh

p.s. For those wondering why I don't usually sell domains: It's simple - I'm a builder, not a trader. But when the right opportunity comes along to help a friend and a company you believe in... well, sometimes you make an exception.