Lei Jun invested more than 20 million in Mi.com! The most expensive domain name in the history of the Internet?

Industry Information 01 Apr 2024 02:44:49 PM By:DN editor
Abstract:

The Xiaomi Car SU7 has officially launched and announced a starting price of 215,900 yuan. In just 27 minutes, the number of orders has surpassed 50,000! The popularity is unprecedented!

The Xiaomi Car launch event was a great success!

The "Auto Spring Festival Gala" at the beginning of 2024 has come to a close, marking the end of a months-long guessing game. Finally, the mystery has been revealed. The Xiaomi Car SU7 has officially hit the market with a starting price of 215,900 yuan. In just 27 minutes, the number of orders surpassed 50,000! The popularity is unprecedented!

Lei Jun invested more than 20 million in Mi.com! The most expensive domain name in the history of the Internet?

Xiaomi's official domain is the two-letter "Mi.com," registered in November 1998. This domain was acquired by Lei Jun in 2014 for $3.6 million (approximately 22.42 million yuan at the exchange rate of that time). "Mi" stands for the initials of "Xiaomi" in Pinyin and also represents "Mobile Internet" in English, perfectly aligning with Xiaomi's brand. The domain for Xiaomi's car division is xiaomiev.com, registered in June 2020.

There's an interesting story behind the acquisition of "mi.com". Before 2014, Xiaomi's official domain was "xiaomi.com". Lei Jun, considering Xiaomi's international expansion, decided to upgrade the official domain from "xiaomi.com" to "mi.com". However, "Mi.com" was already owned by a professor at Stanford University, who was a domain collector and had acquired it in 1991.

Lei Jun invested more than 20 million in Mi.com! The most expensive domain name in the history of the Internet?

Lei Jun, being astute, entrusted a domain agent to negotiate with the professor. They were prepared to settle for a lower price. However, for a domain enthusiast, a domain is priceless and not easily sold. Eventually, Lei Jun acquired it for 22.42 million yuan. Lei Jun later tweeted, "Mi.com is incredibly expensive, probably one of the most expensive domain names in the history of the Chinese internet!"

Lei Jun invested more than 20 million in Mi.com! The most expensive domain name in the history of the Internet?

At that time, the price seemed exorbitant. But for Xiaomi, which now has a cash reserve of 136.7 billion yuan, it's insignificant. It was this expensive domain that brought a significant amount of exposure to Xiaomi at the time.

In recent times, there have been two significant events in the internet industry regarding domain names:

1. 360 Company launched 360AI Search and adopted the new domain sou.com.

2. Honor Company upgraded its official domain hihonor.com to Honor.com.

Why do internet giants spare no expense in investing in domain names? In the words of Zhao Ming, CEO of Honor Company: "Because a domain name is not just a name, but a strategy, and more importantly, it indicates the future value direction of a company, which cannot be measured in terms of money."

OpenAI raises $40 billion to lead the AI race; premium domain names become a new battlefield for brands to compete

OpenAI raises $40 billion to lead the AI race; premium domain names become a new battlefield for brands to compete

The AI ​​industry is heating up, OpenAI and Musk's Xai are continuously raising funds, and AI.com is offering $100 million, setting off a wave of domain name investment.

Industry Information 28 Mar 2025 02:34:45 PM

The bidding for the

The bidding for the ".co" domain name has started at US$77 million. Who will take over the operation rights?

The Colombian government is accelerating a new round of bidding for the operating rights of the ".co" domain name, with an estimated transaction value of US$77 million.

Industry Information 27 Mar 2025 03:46:33 PM

The auction of the two-letter domain name IZ.com has come to an end, with a transaction price of US$517,500

The auction of the two-letter domain name IZ.com has come to an end, with a transaction price of US$517,500

The two-letter .com domain IZ.com was sold for $517,500 in a public auction. The auction attracted 26 bidders and 255 bids before the hammer finally fell.

Industry Information 27 Mar 2025 01:29:36 PM

Gong.com domain name dispute ends, complainant accused of reverse hijacking

Gong.com domain name dispute ends, complainant accused of reverse hijacking

Recently, the UDRP case surrounding the domain name Gong.com has a verdict. The WIPO panel ruled that the defendant Jeffrey Gong won the case and found that the complainant had engaged in reverse domain name hijacking.

Industry Information 26 Mar 2025 02:46:36 PM

Top exchange domain name Binance.eth is being snapped up!

Top exchange domain name Binance.eth is being snapped up!

Recently, the auction of binance.eth has caused quite a stir. The latest bid for the domain name has soared to 25.00 WETH (about 51,590 US dollars), but many people in the comment area said that the price is "too low."

Industry Information 27 Mar 2025 03:50:09 PM

Temu domain name rights protection has won another victory, and the ccTLD disputes in many countries have been settled.

Temu domain name rights protection has won another victory, and the ccTLD disputes in many countries have been settled.

Temu is a cross-border e-commerce platform under Pinduoduo, which has entered the international market since 2022. Recently, the protection actions surrounding brand domain names have continued to attract attention.

Industry Information 25 Mar 2025 03:07:05 PM

Lei Jun invested more than 20 million in Mi.com! The most expensive domain name in the history of the Internet?