Citadel Buys Bulk of Situational Awareness Stock Portfolio After Heavy AI Losses

Ken Griffin’s Citadel has reportedly bought a large share of the public stock portfolio held by Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, following steep losses tied to July’s AI stock selloff.

Fund Fell 67% in July Despite Strong Yearly Gains

The Financial Times first reported the deal Thursday, noting Citadel purchased the discounted holdings after the AI-driven market rout hit the fund hard. A letter sent to investors showed the fund dropped roughly 67% in July while remaining up about 80% for the year, a sharp reversal after being up 439% through June. Reports indicate the fund had reached out to existing investors and lenders for fresh capital, and briefly agreed to sell $3.5 billion in Anthropic shares to a group led by Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital before backing out of that deal Thursday morning.

Fund Retains $10 Billion Including Anthropic Stake

Situational Awareness kept roughly $10 billion in stocks and private investments, including its Anthropic position, according to Reuters, though it remains unclear whether formal margin calls triggered the sale. Stocks tied to the fund saw sharp July declines, with Sandisk down 44%, CoreWeave nearly 26%, and Bloom Energy around 32%. SEC filings also showed the fund held roughly $1.11 billion across seven bitcoin mining companies, including Riot Platforms and Core Scientific, though it’s unclear if those positions were part of the Citadel deal.