Revolut founder Nik Storonsky says ChatGPT found his $404 million yacht's ex-owner

Nik Storonsky, the billionaire co-founder and chief executive of British fintech Revolut, told a UK court he identified the previous owner of a €350 million ($404 million) superyacht through a ChatGPT search, as he contests a broker's claim for €17.5 million in commission.

Cecil Wright & Partners, a yacht brokerage, sued Storonsky in August, alleging he sidelined the firm and bought the vessel privately after it had done the work of finding it. Storonsky's lawyers said in filings this week that he already knew the identity of the previous owner, named in court documents as Mr Dovigi, "having discovered the same through a ChatGPT search of publicly available information."

His lawyers further argue that Cecil Wright neither introduced him to the seller nor negotiated the transaction. The claim has not been tested in court.

The yacht, Nixie, was under construction at German shipbuilder Lürssen when the purchase closed in January 2026, and was delivered around June. It carries a 25-foot glass-bottomed infinity pool, a beach club and a gym fitted with a cryotherapy chamber.

The purchase sits oddly against Storonsky's own financial position. He owns about 29 per cent of Revolut, which was valued at $115 billion in an employee share sale, making him one of Britain's wealthiest people on paper but with limited access to cash.

In August, Revolut wrote to investors seeking approval to raise the amount Storonsky may borrow against his stake from $50 million to $250 million, and to drop a requirement for board approval on larger share pledges.

Revolut, founded in 2015, now serves about 75 million customers. Its pre-tax profit rose by more than half last year to roughly $2.3 billion on revenue of about $6.1 billion.