Leopold Aschenbrenner, a 24-year-old German-American investor and former OpenAI researcher, has been forced to liquidate most of his AI-focused hedge fund, Situational Awareness, after a sharp correction in semiconductor stocks wiped out much of its value. The fund, which grew from an initial $225 million investment to a peak valuation of over $45 billion, collapsed in worth as lenders pressured Aschenbrenner to sell assets to cover debts he had taken on to finance the fund. Veteran hedge fund manager Ken Griffin's Citadel acquired the bulk of the portfolio, though Aschenbrenner retains private holdings — including a stake in AI firm Anthropic — valued at an estimated $5 billion.