Hedge fund that sold most of its stock portfolio invests $400 million in chip startup Source Foundry

Another big bet

The hedge fund Situational Awareness invested $400 million this week in Source Foundry, a Stanford University spin‑out developing faster, cheaper semiconductor manufacturing technology. The investment brings the fund’s total exposure to Source Foundry to $500 million. The data were first published in the Wall Street Journal. The move comes despite the fact that the fund was forced to liquidate most of its public‑stock portfolio just last month, indicating an undiminished risk appetite even after significant losses.

Situational Awareness, founded in 2024 by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, who was in his mid‑twenties and had no prior trading experience, sold most of its public‑equity portfolio to Ken Griffin’s Citadel at the end of July, though it retained its Anthropic shares. Early returns were strong, but in recent months the fund suffered steep losses tied to the decline in AI‑infrastructure stocks. Assets under management fell from $20 billion to $10 billion following those losses.

Fall from $20 billion to $10 billion

The Source Foundry deal signals that the fund remains willing to back large‑scale hardware bets despite a tight liquidity position and heightened pressure. The company’s valuation after the investment was not disclosed.

What it means in practice

The source notes that Aschenbrenner did not let business challenges interfere with his getting married.