ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s co-founder and boss Sam Altman created quite a buzz online when he posted the shortest tweet ever in his timeline, ‘chat(dot)com.’ For the curious kitties, the domain redirects to *drum rolls* ChatGPT(dot)Com. Even as netizens wondered about the valuation of the site, the original owner of the vanity domain, Dharmesh Shah, the CTO and founder of Hubspot, dropped a tweet explaining the mystery. The Indian-origin computer scientist tweeted, quoting Altman’s post that he had bought the domain for $15.5 million in 2023, purportedly for a project that never materialized. He stated that OpenAI was the perfect home for this domain and hence decided to sell it to the folks at the firm whose boss has been a good pal of his for over a decade now. How much did he profit from the sale though hasn’t been officially disclosed. Some estimate it to be over $10 million at least.
https://t.co/n494J9IuEN— Sam Altman (@sama) November 6, 2024
BREAKING NEWS: Secret acquirer of $15+ million domain chat .com revealed and it’s exactly who you’d think.
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you may recall that I announced earlier this year that I had acquired the domain chat .com for an “8 figure sum”… https://t.co/nv1IyddP5z— dharmesh (@dharmesh) November 6, 2024
Woo hoo!
Brilliantly simple.
Thrilled that you’re using this and we can finally talk about it now. :)— dharmesh (@dharmesh) November 6, 2024
“The winner is Dharmesh,” quipped one user as the internet went on an overdrive over the news. Others suggested, “Drop the GPT; it’s cleaner.” Memes followed.
Expensive domain pic.twitter.com/gIhLtdRBOP— Hpremium (@web3nam3) November 6, 2024
The winner is @dharmesh— Neelesh Salian 💻 (@neelesh_salian) November 6, 2024
pic.twitter.com/m4NuCl73jZ— Alex Volkov (Thursd/AI) (@altryne) November 6, 2024
money money money pic.twitter.com/lTQppaeIGC— Prashant (@Prashant_1722) November 6, 2024
pic.twitter.com/gG7ChNa5hg— cole murray (@_colemurray) November 6, 2024
skibidi rizz . com pic.twitter.com/xqygvH6HLl— Jason Levin (@iamjasonlevin) November 6, 2024
Oui miaou pic.twitter.com/NhlgwJ8YjQ— SuperBenji63 – TERFs hate account (@SupBenji63) November 6, 2024
Sama what will be my role in your totalitarian global technostate?— Lorthock (@lorthock) November 7, 2024
Dharmesh Shah co-founded Hubspot in 2006. He holds a degree in computer science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a masters in management of technology from MIT. Shah started his career as a software developer for SunGard Employee Benefit System for two years in 1992. Meanwhile, Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, along with a handful of other partners that also include Elon Musk, who left the board in 2018 while it was still a non-profit. Altman, a Stanford dropout, is also the chairman of Oklo Inc. and Helion Energy, which are focused on nuclear fusion and fission. He was also the CEO of Reddit for eight days in 2014, when CEO Yishan Wong resigned.
See Also: Elon Musk Takes A Dig At OpenAI Boss Sam Altman Driving One Of The Most Expensive Cars: Watch
See Also: OpenAI’s Boss Sam Altman Spent Some Time In An Ashram After Selling First Startup And Breaking Up