Embattled hedge fund Situational Awareness invests $400M in chip startup Source Foundry

Situational Awareness may have had to sell off the majority of its public portfolio last month, but the AI-focused hedge fund is still making some big bets.

This week, the fund invested $400 million into Source Foundry, a startup founded by Stanford researchers aiming to make chip manufacturing faster and cheaper, according to The Wall Street Journal. That brings its total investment in Source Foundry to $500 million.

Situational Awareness was founded by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher in his mid-twenties who had no trading experience when he launched the fund in 2024. Early returns were reportedly strong, but the fund faced steep losses in recent months amidst the decline in AI infrastructure stocks.

At the end of July, Situational Awareness sold off the majority of its public portfolio to Ken Griffin’s Citadel, although the fund held on to its Anthropic shares. Its assets under management reportedly fell from $20 billion to $10 billion.

On the bright side, Aschenbrenner didn’t let those setbacks get in the way of his wedding.

Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you.Save up to $300 today!

Newsletters

See More

Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news

Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.

TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.

Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.

Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day.

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.