Crypto.com made history by purchasing the domain AI.com for a staggering $70 million, the most expensive domain purchase ever, just in time for a Super Bowl ad debut. The cryptocurrency platform, founded by Kris Marszalek, plans to unveil its new AI-powered platform during the big game, offering users a personal AI agent for messaging, app usage, and stock trading, according to TechCrunch.
The purchase, facilitated by broker Larry Fischer, was paid entirely in cryptocurrency to an undisclosed seller. Marszalek told the Financial Times that he believes "AI is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime," taking a long-term view of 10 to 20 years. The Super Bowl ad will highlight the new platform.
The Super Bowl also showcased the growing influence of AI in advertising. Svedka Vodka, for example, ran what it touted as the first primarily AI-generated national Super Bowl spot, titled "Shake Your Bots Off," featuring its robot character, Fembot, according to TechCrunch. This follows a trend from the previous year, where AI was used in multimillion-dollar ad spots.
However, not all AI-related Super Bowl news was factual. A supposed "leaked" ad for OpenAI, featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård, was revealed to be a hoax, according to The Verge.
In other tech news, Waymo, the Alphabet-owned self-driving company, is expanding its robotaxi services. Waymo now operates in six markets, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Phoenix, and plans to add more than a dozen new cities internationally, including London and Tokyo, according to TechCrunch. The company has $16 billion to fuel this expansion.
Meanwhile, a startup is working on recreating lost footage from Orson Welles' classic film "The Magnificent Ambersons" using generative AI. The project, spearheaded by Edward Saatchi, stems from a genuine love of Welles and his work, according to TechCrunch. Saatchi recalled watching films with his movie-mad parents.
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