Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI Hedge Fund Collapses from $45 Billion to Around $10 Billion
Former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner saw his hedge fund, Situational Awareness, collapse in value by over two-thirds due to falling semiconductor stocks and margin calls. The fund reportedly used up to 400% leverage before being forced to sell its leveraged public stock positions—such as SK Hynix (SKHY) and CoreWeave—to Citadel at a discount. Aschenbrenner, who gained fame in Silicon Valley with his AI manifesto earlier this year, launched the fund without prior money management experience. The collapse has drawn attention from both Wall Street and tech circles, highlighting risks associated with high leverage and market volatility during the AI boom. Critics had previously questioned Aschenbrenner's lack of financial expertise. The blow-up underscores concerns about speculative trading in public markets despite long-term optimism around artificial intelligence. Situational Awareness was once valued at $45 billion but now holds roughly a third of that, with much of its remaining assets tied to private investments like Anthropic.
Tickers: $SKHYV
Topics: AI hedge funds leverage semiconductors