Ex-OpenAI researcher built a $45 billion AI hedge fund – It all melted down during his wedding week

“Everyone is now talking about AI, but few have the faintest glimmer of what is about to hit them,” wrote former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner in his 2024 career-defining essay. Irony hit him even harder this week.

The German-born artificial intelligence researcher and investor went viral ahead of his own wedding weekend for an entirely unrelated and possibly the worst reason. The 24-year-old, who was once part of OpenAI’s “Superalignment” team, had become the face of an AI-themed hedge fund – named Situational Awareness – in recent years.