Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness unwinds hedge fund with up to $24B after leveraged AI bets fail

Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund Situational Awareness unwound its portfolio after leveraged AI and software bets caused steep losses.

The fund managed $20 billion to $24 billion in assets before the unwind, selling its entire portfolio to another hedge fund.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase helped the fund manage positions and meet margin requirements to avoid a rushed sell-off.

The fund had reported a 439% net return through June 30, but leverage amplified losses when AI stocks like SK Hynix fell and short bets against Adobe moved against it.

Publicly disclosed holdings, including Nebius, dropped over 35% in July.