Aschenbrenner Resumes AI Stock Purchases After $35 Billion Loss

Leopold Aschenbrenner is placing fresh wagers on AI-linked firms, just six weeks after those same bets almost collapsed his fund. According to CNBC sources, his Situational Awareness fund purchased call options covering AMD, Bloom Energy, CoreWeave, SK Hynix and SanDisk. The transactions occurred from late last week through this week.

Aschenbrenner, previously at OpenAI, gained prominence through a 2024 essay that predicted human-level AI by 2027. He then created an investment operation based on that thesis, supporting firms that provide computing power and energy for AI.

The danger of that strategy became clear in July. Leverage amplified stock declines, generating margin calls that the fund could not satisfy. CNBC reported that assets fell from over $45 billion to around $10 billion.

Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situation Awareness has reportedly been active in the options market while building significant stakes in $CRWV, $SNDK, $BE and $AMD.

He’s leaning right back into the AI trade after blowing up the fund earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/8aol5y5tAU

— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) September 11, 2026

What July Cost Leopold Aschenbrenner

Citadel, run by Ken Griffin, acquired the fund's troubled assets at a reduced price. Situational Awareness held onto its private holdings, such as Anthropic. Afterwards, the SEC issued subpoenas to major banks regarding their transactions with the fund. The investigation was disclosed without any accusations of misconduct.

Aschenbrenner's comeback strategy employs call options, which give the holder the right to buy shares at a set price by a certain date. If bought with cash and no leverage, the maximum loss is the premium paid. Nonetheless, that premium can be lost entirely if the options are not exercised.

The familiar names have drawn attention. On Friday, CNBC’s Jim Cramer wrote:

“Someone is shooting against all the Situational Stocks!”

Stock performance on Friday was varied: Bloom Energy gained close to 7% and AMD about 3%. SanDisk and CoreWeave recorded declines.

AMD's put options also recently exceeded its call options in terms of open interest, although puts are sometimes used to hedge existing positions.

Whether Aschenbrenner is deploying remaining fund capital or new investor funds is not known. Once more, he is wagering on the firms that power the AI surge, using instruments that set a time limit for returns.