Aschenbrenner seeks direct investor buyout after $600M AI fund loss

Hedge fund manager Leopold Aschenbrenner is soliciting direct purchases of fund positions from existing investors following a reported $600 million single-day loss, according to the Financial Times. The former OpenAI employee launched his AI-infrastructure focused fund in 2024 without prior investing experience, growing assets to $20 billion by betting on power and chip constraints. Positions in SanDisk, Bloom Energy, and Core Scientific reportedly yielded returns exceeding 1,000% before the recent downturn erased significant value. Jane Street Capital had previously backed the fund despite rarely supporting outside managers. Aschenbrenner’s request for investors to acquire holdings directly rather than providing fresh capital suggests an attempt to avoid forced liquidations in declining markets. This unconventional liquidity measure indicates severe stress within a strategy that Wall Street celebrated as prescient only months ago. Market participants now question whether this event signals a broader correction in AI infrastructure valuations or represents a temporary setback for the sector's leading thematic investor.