Leopold Aschenbrenner, 24, former OpenAI researcher, grows fund past $15B
Leopold Aschenbrenner, just 24 and a former OpenAI researcher, has grown his hedge fund Situational Awareness LP from about $225 million in seed capital to more than $15 billion in AUM since 2024.
The fund's returns have been wild, over 1,000% total and a huge 270% gain so far this year, putting it on the same level as giants like Pershing Square.
Targets AI infrastructure over AI companies
Instead of betting directly on AI companies, Aschenbrenner's strategy is all about investing in the backbone of AI, like Bloom Energy for power, and bitcoin miners Core Scientific and Riot Platforms for data centers.
He also uses put options on chipmakers NVIDIA and AMD to manage risk.
Big names like Jane Street have invested too, showing strong confidence in his approach.
Anthropic alone makes up about 20% of the fund's assets.