Citadel, led by Ken Griffin, acquired in late July 2026 a distressed AI equity portfolio from Situational Awareness, a hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, for an estimated 10 to 16 billion dollars. This fund saw its assets collapse from 45 billion to roughly 10 billion dollars after margin calls triggered by the slump in AI and semiconductor stocks. Within three weeks, Citadel executed nearly 100 block trades worth over 4 billion dollars, unwinding over 80% of the portfolio’s inherent risk. This operation translated into a 5.9% gain in July 2026 for its flagship Wellington fund, its strongest monthly performance since 2022.
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