Sam Altman got a text Thursday night from one of OpenAI's co-founders. By noon yesterday, the CEO had been fired, Axios' Ina Fried writes.

Why it matters: In terms of excitement and copycats, ChatGPT — OpenAI's signature platform — is AI's iPhone. So as observers noted, this is as shocking and disruptive as if Apple had fired Steve Jobs after he launched the iPhone.

• It was a legit surprise, and the real board-Altman dynamics remain a mystery.

🖼️ The big picture: Altman has been the leading face and voice of AI with Congress and governments around world — the human embodiment of the most powerful technology ever.

🍿 Greg Brockman — OpenAI's president, who left the company later Friday in solidarity with Altman — posted his version (reposted by Altman) of how the sacking went down:

- Last night, Sam got a text from Ilya asking to talk at noon Friday. Sam joined a Google Meet and the whole board, except Greg, was there. Ilya told Sam he was being fired and that the news was going out very soon.

- At 12:19pm, Greg got a text from Ilya asking for a quick call. At 12:23pm, Ilya sent a Google Meet link. Greg was told that he was being removed from the board (but was vital to the company and would retain his role) and that Sam had been fired. Around the same time, OpenAI published a blog post.

- As far as we know, the management team was made aware of this shortly after, other than Mira who found out the night prior. The outpouring of support has been really nice; thank you, but please don't spend any time being concerned. We will be fine. Greater things coming soon.

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Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, learned that OpenAI was ousting CEO Sam Altman just a minute before the news was shared with the world, Axios' Ina Fried reports.

• Why it matters: Microsoft is ChatGPT maker OpenAI's closest partner and has deeply tied its fortunes to the AI startup. OpenAI relies on Microsoft for funding as well as its cloud services.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a blog post: "We have a long-term agreement with OpenAI with full access to everything we need to deliver on our innovation agenda and an exciting product roadmap; and remain committed to our partnership, and to [interim CEO Mira Murati] and the team."

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Coordinated ad boycotts against social media companies rarely last long, Axios media trends expert Sara Fischer writes.

• What makes the spreading revolt against X different is that advertisers like Apple aren't suspending ads as a result of a coordinated boycott, but rather unilaterally to protect their own reputations.
• Those decisions make it much harder for advertisers to return quickly.

⚡ The latest: A growing list of X's biggest advertisers are pulling out — leaving the company's ad business in limbo — after owner Elon Musk backed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform. Civil rights groups have reported a rise in antisemitism and hate speech on the platform.

• Companies ditching the platform include Apple, IBM, Disney, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Lions Gate Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, Axios' Shauneen Miranda reports.
• The European Union's executive branch said yesterday that it's pausing advertising on X and other social media platforms, in part because of a surge in hate speech.

🚨 The bottom line: After more than a year of complaints about Musk's stewardship of the former Twitter, there's now a true existential threat to X as the global town square.

• This is a fight to define what Twitter is and its financial viability — putting the iconic enterprise at real risk.

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Thousands of abandoned "ghost" towns are scattered across the U.S. Many are no more than memories — but a few hundred still have free-standing structures or museums you can visit, Axios' Tory Lysik writes.

This map shows ghost towns confirmed to have some sort of building ruins.

• Bodie, Calif., is an abandoned gold mining town turned state historic park. Visitors can see the old church, mining museum and 100+ original buildings.
• Capitol City, Colo., is a remote town near Telluride that was created in the hopes of making it the state capital. Now all that's left is a post office.

👀 America may have many more yet-undiscovered ghost towns across.

• Kansas alone was once estimated to have thousands.

The four-hour meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could herald the beginning of a period of relative calm in the U.S.-China relationship.

• But fundamental divisions between the two countries mean the detente may not last, Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports.

What's happening: Xi's remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, both in public and in his meeting with Biden, were less critical and nationalistic than in the past.

• Xi's words at a dinner with American CEOs were particularly warm. He repeatedly highlighted the benefits of economic cooperation, and suggested China might send more pandas to the U.S. — drawing applause from the audience.

Chinese state media also changed its tune, pumping out articles all week that praised U.S.-China people-to-people ties.

🔎 Between the lines: The softer tone comes as China faces its most difficult economic conditions in decades. Foreign direct investment in China is falling, and U.S. export restrictions have hobbled parts of China's tech sector.

🥊 Reality check: "The achievement of the summit lies in the stabilization of U.S.-China relationship, not its improvement," Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a D.C.-based think tank, tells Axios.

• "Nothing fundamentally has changed in both countries — including their defined national interests, leaders' preferences, the structural conflict between the two countries, as well as their definition of each other."

Luxury home sales are up in nearly a third of the largest U.S. metros, Axios' Briana Crane writes from a Redfin report.

• Why it matters: A tough market isn't so tough if you have lots of cash.

🧮 By the numbers: Luxury housing supply rose 3% across the U.S., and sales surged more than 30% in some metros, including Tampa and Las Vegas.

• Non-luxury home sales were down in every major U.S. metro — and non-luxury supply is down 21%, according to Redfin.

Between the lines: A growing share of luxury buyers are paying in all cash (43%) or weathering high mortgage rates in hopes of refinancing later.

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Sam Altman responded to his blockbuster ouster with a few posts on X yesterday.

• One for the road: "if i start going off, the openai board should go after me for the full value of my shares"

Pet owners are increasingly eager to cater their homes to pups, cats and other companion animals.

• Nearly 1 in 5 recent homebuyers say they factored in proximity to parks and the vet when picking a neighborhood, Axios' Sami Sparber writes from National Association of Realtors data.
• Searches for "pet bedroom" on Pinterest rose 132% from October 2022 to October 2023.

Cast in point: Artie, a goldendoodle in Willmar, Minn., has a "dood cave" stocked with toys, family photos, a ball pit and a tunnel, owner Britta Diem tells Axios.

Clients often bring typed-out lists that include pet showers or built-ins to conceal food and water bowls, says Nathan Kipnis, founder of Kipnis Architecture + Planning, based in Chicago and Boulder.

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