Situational Awareness, the AI hedge fund run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, lost 67% in July. The fund previously reported a 439% gain for the year through June. A sharp downturn in technology stocks triggered the losses due to the fund's concentrated, leveraged bets on AI infrastructure.
The firm liquidated the majority of its public stock portfolio to Ken Griffin’s Citadel to cover margin calls. Aschenbrenner informed investors he will stop using leverage for public market investments to alter the firm's strategy. Situational Awareness remains operational and retains its private investments, including a major stake in AI startup Anthropic.