AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness, experienced a dramatic collapse in July, losing approximately $35 billion from its peak value. The fund's downfall was attributed to significant, concentrated bets on semiconductor companies SanDisk and Micron Technology, which saw substantial price declines during the month.
At the end of June, Aschenbrenner's fund held stakes of $5.7 billion in SanDisk and $5.6 billion in Micron Technology. These two holdings constituted more than half of the fund's U.S. stock portfolio, which had rapidly grown from under $4 billion to over $20 billion in the second quarter. By the end of July, SanDisk shares had fallen 47% and Micron shares had dropped 29%. These losses, combined with a 31% decline in Bloom Energy, the fund's next largest holding, led to a roughly 67% erosion of the portfolio's value in a single month.
The sharp decline triggered margin calls, forcing Situational Awareness to liquidate billions of dollars in assets in a fire sale to Citadel, billionaire Ken Griffin's trading firm. The fund's total assets reportedly shrank from around $45 billion to approximately $10 billion.
Aschenbrenner, 24, founded Situational Awareness in 2024 with a focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI). He had previously worked at OpenAI before being terminated in 2024. Despite the recent losses, the fund reportedly remained significantly up for the year, having returned 439% in the first half of 2026. The implosion also reportedly cost trading firm Jane Street nearly $15 billion.
Before his investing career, Aschenbrenner gained attention for his 165-page essay, "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," which predicted the arrival of AGI by 2027 and highlighted potential geopolitical risks associated with superintelligent AI. His firm received anchor investments from notable figures including Patrick Collison, John Collison, Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross. The dramatic financial downturn occurred just days before Aschenbrenner's planned wedding.