Situational Awareness, the hedge fund started by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, has returned to investing with a $400 million stake in an undisclosed private company, days after the fund nearly collapsed under margin pressure.
According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, the firm had already invested $100 million in the same unnamed company in July. The most recent $400 million investment closed on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported. Cointelegraph has asked Situational Awareness for comment.
The firm’s dramatic repositioning follows a severe drawdown in July when assets under management reportedly fell roughly 78% as an AI-stock sell-off provoked margin calls from Wall Street lenders. Faced with those calls, Situational Awareness sought new capital and explored selling stakes in private holdings, the Financial Times said.
To stabilize the balance sheet and satisfy creditors, the fund sold most of its public equity portfolio to Ken Griffin’s Citadel, a move that allowed it to repay lenders while retaining its private-company investments.
Before the turmoil, Situational Awareness had concentrated investments in infrastructure tied to AI, including power and data centers and Bitcoin miners that are moving into AI computing. A May 18 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission covering positions as of March 31 listed about $1.11 billion across seven Bitcoin-mining stocks, including IREN, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms and CleanSpark.
The fund’s recent large private investment signals a rapid effort to rebuild exposure after the liquidity crisis. Details about the company that received the financing were not disclosed in reporting.
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