‘Nostradamus of AI’ Leopold Aschenbrenner makes – Business News
The so-called “Nostradamus of AI,” Leopold Aschenbrenner, has made a new $400 million wager on a non-public company – simply days after the near-implosion of his hedge fund, in line with a report.
Aschenbrenner’s firm, Situational Awareness, had poured $100 million into the identical company final month, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people acquainted with the matter.
The outlet stated the company was half of Situational Awareness’s present portfolio, although it was unclear which firm obtained the infusion.
Leopold Aschenbrenner speaks with Dwarkesh Patel on his podcast in a video posted to YouTube on June 4, 2024. YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel
The Post has reached out to Situational Awareness for remark.
Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher-turned-investment wunderkind, constructed a $45 billion hedge fund by putting main bets on the artificial intelligence growth.
But a main pullback in tech shares triggered a wave of margin calls that almost crushed Situational Awareness in a matter of days.
In a bid to avert catastrophe, the Columbia University graduate in the end agreed to sell large chunks of his firm’s holdings in public tech firms to billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel – whereas utilizing the proceeds to repay lenders and sustaining control of its stakes in privately held corporations.
As of final Thursday, Situational Awareness’s holdings have been valued at $10 billion – a fraction of their peak.
“We let you down this month,” Aschenbrenner wrote buyers final Friday. “While we in the end discovered a resolution that protected the fund and also you as buyers, our intention in operating the fund is to by no means discover ourselves in such a place within the first place.
Leopold Aschenbrenner, 24, is seen in a 2021 {photograph}. Columbia College
“We took the steps that were necessary to fight another day,” he added. “But our fund must always be structured such that we can take a loss and fight another day. I will make it my mission to ensure that we learn the necessary lessons from this experience.”
Situational Awareness’s non-public holdings embrace AI giant Anthropic, in addition to lesser-known corporations like Fluidstack and MatX, in line with Bloomberg.
The compelled fire sale occurred on the identical weekend as Aschenbrenner’s wedding ceremony.
It befell in lavish Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, with dozens of high-profile Silicon Valley attendees.
