Was Friend crazy for spending $1.8M on Friend.com?

When AI companion startup Friend revealed it had spent $1.8 million on buying the www.friend.com domain name last week, it set off a debate around what exactly branding is worth, and how startups should be spending cash. Founders of other companies like Loom and Public came forward to share stories of their own quests to lock down a domain, but the questions continued rolling in: Did Friend overspend for its domain? Will it really make a difference?..