# 25-year-old AI investor's $16 billion bet hits a brutal reality check

_Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 8:00 AM EDT · Capital · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![25-year-old AI investor's $16 billion bet hits a brutal reality check — Primary](https://pic1.calcalist.co.il/picserver3/crop_images/2026/04/16/SJvaT7C2Zl/SJvaT7C2Zl_0_0_768_433_0_large.jpg)

25-year-old AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund Situational Awareness is closing most of its positions after suffering major losses from concentrated bets on artificial intelligence stocks.

Citadel, the hedge fund founded by billionaire investor Ken Griffin, has stepped in to purchase part of the fund's trading portfolio after a sharp selloff forced Situational Awareness to unwind much of its public equity positions. According to Reuters, Situational Awareness' roughly $16 billion public equities portfolio lost 67% of its value during July, forcing the fund to liquidate most of its positions.

Aschenbrenner acknowledged the losses in a letter to investors, writing: "We let you down."

## Sources

- [calcalistech.com](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/byxcaunbfe)

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Retrieved: 2026-08-02T17:09:22.344Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)