Fired from the company you started on Friday. In talks to return on Saturday. Hired by Microsoft on Monday. Sam Altman’s weekend or a Craig David song written by ChatGPT? You decide.

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• 🏦 Citigroup employees brace for layoffs and a management overhaul.

• 🚕 The CEO of GM’s robot taxi unit Cruise has quit amid a US safety review.

• 📈 Japanese stocks hit a 33-year high on strong earnings.

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OpenAI’s Sam Altman to lead new Microsoft AI team

It’s been a weekend for OpenAI founder Sam Altman. On Friday, he was abruptly fired by the board, reportedly because of concerns about his commitment to AI safety. Altman’s co-founder Greg Brockman quit in solidarity, but soon after both were in talks to rejoin OpenAI.

The talks fell through and OpenAI’s board appointed former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as CEO. Within hours, Microsoft scooped up Altman and Brockman to head up a new advanced AI research team ($). The company is a leading investor in OpenAI and says it “remains committed” to the partnership.

An unusual aspect of OpenAI is its structure. It’s a blend of nonprofit, for profit, and capped profit. As its success has rocketed, tensions have grown between those who lean towards its potential to create safe AI and those who see its full and financial potential.

The content we're consuming today

• The Economist: The Sam Altman drama points to a deeper split in the tech world

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Off-balance sheet items

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The bottom line