Leopold Aschenbrenner built his reputation on a simple thesis: artificial intelligence would reshape the world, and the smart money should be positioned accordingly. In July 2026, the world reshaping went in the wrong direction. His hedge fund, Situational Awareness, lost approximately 67% of its value in a single month.
The liquidation and Citadel’s opportunism
After the staggering decline, Aschenbrenner’s fund liquidated its entire public equities portfolio. The buyer was Ken Griffin’s Citadel, which scooped up the positions in a block trade.
In an investor letter, Aschenbrenner was blunt about the damage. “We let you down this month,” he wrote.
The losses were concentrated in AI infrastructure and semiconductor stocks, the very sectors Aschenbrenner had built his investment thesis around.
