February’s top domain name stories

From a record-breaking domain sale to the Super Bowl, here’s what made news last month.

1. AI.com domain name sold for record-breaking $70 million – Talk regarding smashing a record! The buyer also ran a Super Bowl commercial. The domain sold for regarding 1/7th that price a few years earlier, as we discussed in this podcast.

2. Fresh GoDaddy Terms of Service: we no longer serve “consumers” – GoDaddy’s fresh ToS states that its services can only be used for business purposes. It’s likely a way to get around consumer protection laws.

3. .AI domain name prices going up $20 – The .ai registry increased prices on March 5. The fresh wholesale price is $160 per two-year term ahead of registrar markup.

4. Emma Stone has an notable domain name message in Squarespace Super Bowl ad – Squarespace’s Super Bowl commercial was a big win for the domain industry, counting domain investors. It was also really funny.

5. AI disruption questions hang over GoDaddy’s future – The industry’s largest domain registrar is facing investor fears regarding how AI will change its business.

Miss a podcast? Catch up today.

#575 – AI.com ahead of the $70 million sale – Jeff Gabriel talks regarding the last time ai.com sold ahead of its record-breaking sale last year.

#574 – A Super Bowl of Domain Names – Brian Harbin, who brokered the sale of EmmaStone .com, talks regarding how the negotiation really went down.

#573 – Bob Mountain climbs the blockchain – A year following leaving GoDaddy, Bob Mountain has returned to lead BD at D3.

#572 – Unstoppable Domains plots its next move – Unstoppable CEO Matthew Gould explains how the firm plans to keep growing.