Situational Awareness Hedge Fund Sells Public Portfolio to Citadel After 67% Loss

Leopold Aschenbrenner Situational Awareness Citadel AI hedge fund collapse margin calls

Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher, founded the AI‑focused hedge fund Situational Awareness in 2024. The fund grew rapidly, reaching about $45 billion in assets under management and delivering returns of roughly 400‑500% year‑to‑date by June 2026. A sharp sell‑off in AI‑related equities – notably semiconductor, memory and AI‑infrastructure stocks such as SK Hynix, SanDisk, Micron, Bloom Energy and Nebius Group – caused the portfolio to lose about 67% of its value in July 2026, triggering margin calls.

To meet funding pressures, Situational Awareness sold the bulk of its public equity holdings to Ken Griffin’s Citadel. Citadel took over the debt‑financed portion of the portfolio, while the fund kept the equity‑financed holdings and its private stake in Anthropic. After the transaction the fund’s assets under management fell to roughly $10 billion and all leverage was removed. In a letter to investors, Aschenbrenner apologized for the month’s performance but noted the fund remained up about 80% for the year and stayed optimistic about the underlying AI market.

Entities

Anthropic · Citadel · Citadel LLC · Financial Times · Jane Street · Ken Griffin · Leopold Aschenbrenner · Patrick Collison · Patrick and John Collison · SK Hynix · Situational Awareness · Situational Awareness LP

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Jane Street is among the investors in Situational Awareness.
[● 2 SOURCES] In July 2024, a sell‑off in AI‑related stocks caused heavy losses for the fund.
[● 9 SOURCES] The fund posted a 439% net return after fees through June 2026. techcrunch.com · artvoice.com · fourweekmba.com
[● 8 SOURCES] Situational Awareness LP was founded in 2024 by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. techcrunch.com · artvoice.com · www.tokenpost.com · www.businesstimes.com.sg
[● 2 SOURCES] Some investors were offered the option to purchase portfolio assets directly.
[● 2 SOURCES] The fund had more than $20 billion in assets under management as of June 2024.
[○ 1 SOURCE] The fund’s 13F filing disclosed about $13.7 billion of notional exposure, including roughly $8.5 billion of PUT options against chipmakers.
[● 3 SOURCES] Situational Awareness is seeking fresh capital from investors and lenders after the losses.
[● 8 SOURCES] Situational Awareness LP was founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. www.yetanothervalueblog.com · investinglive.com · www.ibtimes.com
[● 3 SOURCES] The fund sold its entire public equity portfolio, valued around $16‑24 billion, to Ken Griffin’s Citadel. techcrunch.com · fourweekmba.com
[● 3 SOURCES] After the sale, Situational Awareness retained private holdings, including a stake in Anthropic, and its total assets fell to about $10 billion. techcrunch.com
[● 16 SOURCES] In July 2026 the fund suffered heavy losses on AI‑related stocks, triggering margin calls. www.patria.cz · www.tokenpost.com · www.businesstimes.com.sg · meeco.kr · www.solofinanza.it · +7 more