Hongyi Zhou (C), chairman and CEO of Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (Photo : Reuters)
The public was given an insight into the nature of the future ambitions of Chinese Internet company Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. on Wednesday, when the purchase of the 360.com domain name was finalized for a $17-million price tag.
While a Qihoo representative was not available for a media comment on Thursday, China Daily was able to access registry information to reveal that the domain name was transferred from the United Kingdom-based telecom carrier Vodafone Group.
However, Qihoo's multi-million-dollar purchase is not without a history, as a series of money-filled exchanges have occurred in the 21st century thus far.
The previous record was set in 2010, when U.S.-based Clover Holdings purchased pornography site sex.com for $14 million. Then, in 2013, Global Broadcasting Media Group spent approximately 72 million yuan ($11.5 million) for news portal China.com's assets, which included the domain name.
China's technology sector entered the domain-name history books last year, when smartphone brand Xiaomi Corp launched mi.com, as part of its plan to venture into overseas markets, at a cost of around $3.5 million.
Smartphones are also a key part of Qihoo's future, as co-founder Zhou Hongyi intends to enact a strategic pivot that will also involve other household appliances. Zhou has slated a building in Shenzhen to manufacture Qihoo handsets, and he believes that Qihoo's Internet expertise will assist its expansion into the fiercely competitive smartphone market.
At the end of June 2014, Qihoo had about 500 million monthly Internet users and over 640 million mobile users. Online advertising and Internet value-added services form the foundations of its revenue stream.
