Leopold Aschenbrenner, the 25-year-old former OpenAI researcher, is unwinding many trades in his hedge fund Situational Awareness after large losses on AI stocks and a failed bet against software stocks, according to sources familiar with the matter. The fund, which manages $24 billion, has experienced significant losses in recent weeks.
Assets under management of Situational Awareness, run by Leopold Aschenbrenner.
Prime brokers including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase are working with the fund to meet margin requirements or reduce positions. Brokers have been marketing some of the fund's holdings on both the long and short side for sale prior to the start of trading.
The fund is attempting to raise liquidity by marketing stakes in privately held companies, including an investment in Anthropic. Prospective buyers have expressed interest in purchasing part or all of the Anthropic stake.
At the end of the first quarter, the fund's largest holdings included Nebius Group, Sandisk, Micron, and CoreWeave. All four are down more than 35% this month. The portfolio also includes long positions in AI infrastructure stocks like SK Hynix and short positions in software stocks like Adobe.
Reports vary on the extent of the sell-off. Some sources indicate the fund is being forced to sell its entire portfolio after a rout, while others describe a more measured unwinding of trades and marketing of assets. The size of the losses, the amount being raised, and the extent of asset sales could not be independently confirmed. One report claims a $1 billion liquidation, but this is disputed.
Aschenbrenner, who graduated from Columbia University as valedictorian at age 19, later joined OpenAI's Superalignment team. He was fired in 2024 over what OpenAI described as an improper disclosure of internal information. Aschenbrenner disputes this, saying he shared a largely nonconfidential planning document.
He published a series of essays in 2024 arguing that AI progress will require enormous expansion of computing power, semiconductors, memory, and energy infrastructure. Aschenbrenner is engaged to Avital Balwit, chief of staff for Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, according to a Fortune profile citing a Situational Awareness LP spokesperson.