2026-08-01
On July 24 He Called It a 'Strategic Entry Window.' On July 30 the Fund Was Force-Liquidated.
Leopold Aschenbrenner was born in 2001, fired by OpenAI at 22, published Situational Awareness in June 2024, and launched a fund under that name in September 2024, long AI infrastructure. By early July 2026 the fund ran $45 billion, up more than 2000% cumulatively and 439% in the first half of 2026 alone. On July 24 he wrote to investors calling the drawdown a "strategic entry window" and invited them to add capital on August 1. On July 30 the fund was force-liquidated: Citadel took the entire public-market book, about $16 billion, at a discount in under 36 hours. July losses: 67%. The next day the stocks he was liquidated out of rose 25.99%, 21.51%, and 26.49%. This is a breakdown of why what he was long got repriced on exactly July 30, and how a correct long-term call turns into a wrong position under 4x leverage.
