Wall Street wunderkind loses 30 billion in days as AI investment model fails
Leopold Aschenbrenner, a young financier who previously worked at FTX, lost 30 billion dollars of his fund's value in three days when his AI-driven investment strategy failed. The massive collapse forced a emergency sale of assets to Ken Griffin's hedge fund, and the incident is currently under investigation by the SEC.
Leopold Aschenbrenner, a 24-year-old German investor and former OpenAI researcher, saw his hedge fund, Situational Awareness, collapse after losing 30 billion dollars in just three days. Aschenbrenner, who previously worked under Sam Bankman-Fried at FTX, had achieved rapid success using an AI-driven model to invest in volatile tech and chip stocks. At its peak in July 2025, the fund managed 45 billion dollars, but a global downturn in the chip market caused a 67 percent loss. Major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, intervened, forcing Aschenbrenner to sell his holdings at a discount to Ken Griffin’s Citadel hedge fund.
The liquidation occurred just days before Aschenbrenner’s wedding in Carmel Valley, California. Following the crisis, his personal net worth plummeted from 5 billion dollars to approximately 300 million dollars. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has since launched an investigation into the role played by the involved banks and whether excessive risk was permitted during the fund's operations.
Based on reporting by ad. Translated and condensed by LocalHeadlines.
