Situational Awareness, the AI-focused hedge fund launched by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, faced sharp pressure on new capital raises after July 2026 losses exceeding 60% on leveraged semiconductor and infrastructure positions. The firm sold the bulk of its public equity book to Citadel to meet margin demands, shrinking assets under management from a reported peak near $45 billion to roughly $10 billion while retaining private holdings such as its Anthropic stake. An investor letter shortly afterward invited existing backers to add capital starting August 1, yet the combination of rapid deleveraging, a skeleton team of eight employees, and reputational damage from the unwind created significant barriers. Subsequent deployment of $400 million into chip-manufacturing startup Source Foundry signaled ongoing activity in private AI opportunities but did not resolve questions around fresh outside inflows by the late-August deadline. Traders weighed these stabilization efforts against the tight timeline and history of concentrated, high-volatility bets.