Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness fund lost money on AI infrastructure bets and shorts against software stocks; Ken Griffin’s Citadel agreed to buy its tradable assets as the fund scrambles for cashCalcalist| Related TopicsThe hedge fund run by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former senior OpenAI researcher, is closing most of its positions after heavy losses on AI stocks and a failed bet against software shares left it scrambling to raise capital, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, Ken Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel has signed an agreement to buy the fund’s publicly traded assets.The fund, Situational Awareness, suffered significant losses in recent weeks because of investments in companies that provide AI infrastructure, including chipmaker SK Hynix, while short positions against software companies such as Adobe also performed poorly. One person familiar with the matter said the fund had grown to about $45 billion by early July, before the losses were reflected.GalleryLeopold Aschenbrenner (Screenshot: situational-awareness.ai)The situation remains fluid, however, and it is unclear whether the fund can meet its collateral requirements through asset sales. It held talks to sell its stake in Anthropic, though it is not clear whether that deal was ultimately completed. A company spokesperson said reports that the stake had been reduced were inaccurate.The asset sale comes at an awkward time for Aschenbrenner, who is getting married this weekend, two sources confirmed. Aschenbrenner is engaged to Avital Balwit, chief of staff to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, according to a Fortune profile published in October.The turmoil at the fund marks an early and potentially significant test of the investment strategy that made the 25-year-old Aschenbrenner one of the most closely watched figures in AI trading. He built the firm around the thesis that increasingly powerful AI systems would require enormous expansion in chips, memory, data centers and electricity supply.As of the end of the first quarter, the fund’s largest holdings included Nebius Group, Sandisk, Micron and CoreWeave. Shares of all four companies have fallen by more than 35% this month.SK Hynix; the stock plunged, taking the fund down with it (Photo: Angelina Katsanis/Reuters)Aschenbrenner became well known in technology and investment circles after publishing a series of essays in 2024 arguing that rapid advances in AI would require a massive buildup of computing power, advanced chips, memory components and energy infrastructure. Those arguments became the intellectual foundation for Situational Awareness after he left OpenAI.Aschenbrenner graduated with honors from Columbia University at 19 and joined OpenAI after completing his studies. He was fired in 2024 over allegations that he improperly disclosed internal information.Aschenbrenner denied the allegation, saying he had shared a nonconfidential planning document with outside researchers to seek feedback. He said the dismissal stemmed from tensions after he raised concerns about OpenAI’s security practices.Comments