Situational Awareness lost $35B in AI bets — and sold to Citadel
situational awareness, an ai-focused hedge fund founded by a 24-year-old openai alum, reportedly lost $35 billion in value and sold assets to citadel. this collapse exposes the fragility of leveraged ai bets in a cooling market.
situational awareness lp, a hedge fund managed by 24-year-old former openai employee leopold aschenbrenner, liquidated its portfolio to ken griffin’s citadel securities after suffering catastrophic losses. the firm, which leveraged essays predicting imminent agi to raise capital, saw its assets plummet from $45 billion to $10 billion, marking a $35 billion loss driven by tanking positions in ai infrastructure stocks like nebius group, sandisk, and coreweave. this collapse surpasses the archegos capital meltdown and highlights the growing risks for funds trading on hype rather than immediate revenue. the fire sale to citadel underscores how wall street is consolidating power over distressed ai assets, potentially dampening venture capital enthusiasm for pure-play ai infrastructure bets.