ChatGPT to Become chat.com? OpenAI Invests Over $15 Million in New Domain

OpenAI has invested over $15 million in acquiring a new domain, sparking speculation that ChatGPT might soon be rebranded as chat.com.

OpenAI Acquires chat.com

The esteemed artificial intelligence lab, OpenAI, has purchased the domain chat.com for its chatbot ChatGPT, shelling out a hefty $15 million for this coveted web address.

A Name Change on the Horizon?

In a cryptic announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted simply “chat.com,” later confirming it as the new domain for ChatGPT. This acquisition adds to the company’s existing domains like chatgpt.com and ai.com. The substantial investment raises questions, especially since Altman hinted on social media about giving a “gift” to ChatGPT for its birthday. With OpenAI’s recent introduction of non-GPT labeled models like the reasoning model o1, it seems the company might be moving away from the ChatGPT moniker.

A Rich History of chat.com

Originally a general chat platform in the late ’90s, a period often dubbed the “Wild West” of online communication, chat.com was owned by Cnet and used to redirect to download.com. Over the years, various owners have unsuccessfully tried to transform it into a central hub for online communication. Now, it appears the domain will facilitate conversations with OpenAI’s non-human chatbot rather than human interactions.

A Bright Future for chat.com

Previously owned by Dharmesh Shah, founder of HubSpot, who stated he bought the domain for over $15 million and recently sold it for more than he paid. Shah has expressed that chat-based user interfaces are the “next big thing in software,” asserting that communicating with computers/software through a natural language interface is far more intuitive. With OpenAI’s new AI models, chat.com might soon see ChatGPT transition to just chat.com.