It’s estimated that over 5,000 dot.com companies were launched during the height of the bubble between 1995 and 2000. Amazon, Google and eBay all launched as .com companies. In 1999 alone, venture capital backed more than 1,000 dot.com companies with approximately $31 billion. Established brands like Discovery Channel drank the kool-aid as we re-launched them as discovery.com in an attempt to position them more progressively. Valuations had less to do with profit, even revenue, and more to do with a great name and an antiquated category.
Broadcast.com. eBags.com. webmd.com. Even taxlienauction.com. In our pre-T/K life, we had a front row seat, laptop, BlackBerry and responsibility to draw attention to these brands and more.
In all, venture capital drove 80% of the dot.com funding or approximately $200 billion at today’s values. By the third quarter of 2025, venture capital had invested $200 billion in AI or roughly 65% of its investments. Today, AI is found in established brands like Google and Amazon, as well as in an entirely new category of non-dot.com startups with disruptive intentions.
As we learned from our years launching and elevating dot.com companies, the expectations of emerging AI companies are high. And the role of public relations is paramount in building sustainable, trusted brands. This era is not a race for valuation, IPO and grand exits. Rather, it’s a trusted reputation play that can be accelerated with a thoughtful integrated strategy. Best to find an agency with some dot.com chops and an understanding of building AI brands.
