Nostradamus of AI Leopold Aschenbrenner makes new $400M bet after Situational Awareness funds near-collapse | Latest Tech News
The so-called “Nostradamus of AI,” Leopold Aschenbrenner, has made a new $400 million bet on a non-public company – just days after the near-implosion of his hedge fund, according to a report.
Aschenbrenner’s firm, Situational Awareness, had poured $100 million into the same company last month, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people acquainted with the matter.
The outlet said the company was half of Situational Awareness’s current portfolio, though it was unclear which firm acquired the infusion.
Leopold Aschenbrenner speaks with Dwarkesh Patel on his podcast in a video posted to YouTube on June 4, 2024. YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel
The Post has reached out to Situational Awareness for remark.
Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher-turned-investment wunderkind, constructed a $45 billion hedge fund by inserting major bets on the artificial intelligence growth.
But a major pullback in tech shares triggered a wave of margin calls that almost crushed Situational Awareness in a matter of days.
In a bid to avert catastrophe, the Columbia University graduate finally agreed to promote enormous chunks of his firm’s holdings in public tech corporations to billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel – while utilizing the proceeds to repay lenders and sustaining control of its stakes in privately held companies.
As of last Thursday, Situational Awareness’s holdings have been valued at $10 billion – a fraction of their peak.
“We let you down this month,” Aschenbrenner wrote traders last Friday. “While we finally discovered a resolution that protected the fund and you as traders, our intention in working the fund is to never discover ourselves in such a place in the first place.
Leopold Aschenbrenner, 24, is seen in a 2021 {photograph}. Columbia College
“We took the steps that were necessary to fight another day,” he added. “But our fund must always be structured such that we can take a loss and fight another day. I will make it my mission to ensure that we learn the necessary lessons from this experience.”
Situational Awareness’s non-public holdings embody AI giant Anthropic, as effectively as lesser-known companies like Fluidstack and MatX, according to Bloomberg.
The pressured fire sale occurred on the same weekend as Aschenbrenner’s marriage ceremony.
It came about in lavish Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, with dozens of high-profile Silicon Valley attendees.
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