Citadel Buys Situational Awareness AI Stock Portfolio After Losses
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- Situational Awareness, the AI-focused hedge fund run by Leopold Aschenbrenner, sold the bulk of its stock portfolio to Ken Griffin's Citadel after suffering deep losses on AI-related bets, per the WSJ.
- The Block reports IREN, Core Scientific, and other Bitcoin mining stocks surged as the fund liquidated its roughly $1 billion AI infrastructure portfolio.
- Proactive Investors notes the firm kept its private Anthropic stake while selling off its public portfolio, and the fund is also said to be seeking fresh capital (per fintechfrank on X).
- Axios's Dan Primack reported on X that Citadel bought all of the stock portfolio, not just the majority as the WSJ initially reported.
- The New York Times framed the move as Citadel "rescuing" the floundering AI hedge fund rival.
- X commentators drew parallels to FTX/Binance and to Clarium/Palantir, noting Aschenbrenner's prior role at the FTX Future Fund and the pattern of Citadel acquiring distressed tech positions.
Why it matters: One of the most prominent AI-focused hedge funds is being wound down through a forced sale to Citadel, with roughly $1 billion in AI infrastructure positions changing hands. The fund's survival now hinges on its retained private Anthropic stake and its ability to raise fresh capital — and Bitcoin mining stocks like IREN and Core Scientific saw an unintended boost from the liquidation-driven buying.
