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IT experts have cast doubt on Malaysian tech entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail's claim that he bought the AI.com domain in 1993
They argued that the timeline raises inconsistencies after SAYS quoted Arsyan as saying on Monday, 9 February, that he purchased the domain using a credit card in 1993.
Speaking to SAYS, software developer Colin Charles said there is little doubt that Arsyan was the person who sold the domain to Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek in April 2025.
However, Charles explained that the technology and commercial systems required to register and purchase domains were not available until 1995.
Charles pointed to the establishment of Network Solutions Inc (NSI) in 1995 to begin charging fees for domain registrations.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity expert and LGMS Berhad executive chairperson Fong Choong Fook said that during the mid-1990s, registering a domain was a "very manual process", starkly different from the instant online transactions common today
He explained that at the time, NSI was the sole entity appointed by the US government to handle registrations for extensions like .com, .org, and .net.
"It's not like today you go to the website, select your domain name, and pay online. No, it wasn't like that.
"It was a very manual process. You had to write in, fill out a form, and send it back via email before making payment," he told SAYS.
Fong also questioned how a 10-year-old in Malaysia would have navigated such a system in 1995, noting that email was still at a "very infantile stage" in the country at the time.
"I'm just wondering how did he communicate with NSI? I'm very curious," Fong said.
He added that making payment to a US company as a minor during that era would have posed additional logistical challenges.
Based on records from the Internet Archive, a platform that stores historical snapshots and webpage data, Charles said the domain showed activity as early as 1996
Several archived screenshots indicate that Colorado-based company Advanced Instruments Corporation was once the domain owner between 1994 and the early 2000s. The company's initials are also 'AI'.
The domain is believed to have changed hands several times before 2021, which Charles suggested was a more likely period for Arsyan's acquisition.
Before Marszalek became the new owner, AI.com reportedly redirected to major AI chatbot webpages owned by OpenAI and Elon Musk, sparking speculation about the true owner of the highly sought-after domain.
"It is possible he (Arsyan) could have leased a redirect to ChatGPT or xAI, or it is possible he did it to increase the domain's value," Charles said.
He added that the evidence Arsyan provided in the earlier SAYS article listed Squarespace as the domain registrar, a detail he found questionable, as the web-building and hosting service provider did not exist in 1993.
When asked how domain ownership history can be traced and verified, Fong said there is no universal legal jurisdiction that enforces compliance across countries
While domain owners are technically required to disclose their identity, he said many registrars offer services that allow owners to conceal their details.
"That's why today you still see domains that are owned by some random anonymous names with obfuscation offered as a service by domain registrars.
"Because there's no single legal jurisdiction across different countries, there is no strict mandate to use a real identity."
SAYS has reached out to Arsyan for comment and has not received a response at the time of publication.
