This AI Prodigy Has Returned 1,000% And Now Manages $20 Billion. Here’s His Most Recent Buys
It really does sound unbelievable: that a 24-year-old former OpenAI researcher could just start a hedge fund worth billions and score a return of 1,000% since inception. Undoubtedly, the man I speak of is AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner, an AI…
It really does sound unbelievable: that a 24-year-old former OpenAI researcher could just start a hedge fund worth billions and score a return of 1,000% since inception. Undoubtedly, the man I speak of is AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner, an AI investor who’s been letting his fund’s returns do the talking.
With a deep understanding of the ins and outs of the AI revolution, perhaps it should be no surprise that so many investors out there are studying Leopold’s every move when the latest 13F filings land. With his 165-page manifesto pointing to artificial general intelligence (AGI) by 2027 and everything it’ll entail, it certainly seems like the man offered a glimpse into the future about the decade ahead. It’s an unbelievable story, and the best part is that we’re probably still only in the very early innings.
Situational Awareness. Fully aware of the situation, indeed
Of course, Situational Awareness was able to bet on Anthropic — something that most retail investors couldn’t do — to help power meteoric gains. Beyond the winning Anthropic bet, though, there are a ton of incredible performers. And it’s quite remarkable just how agile Leopold has been in moving down the stream, with a big energy infrastructure pivot made before the crowd caught on. Indeed, Leopold has been quite aware of the situation that the AI revolution has brought forth.
In any case, the race to AGI is on, and whether it happens next year remains anyone’s guess. If AGI is right around the corner, then perhaps the great displacement of white-collar work sounds just as far-fetched as a concept like AI not being in some kind of bubble. Digging deeper into the manifesto, concepts such as superintelligence (24/7 agents) could lead to some form of intelligence explosion. Of course, Leopold nailed the power crisis and energy bottleneck, which is already starting to hold back AI innovators across the board.
In any case, the manifesto seems to suggest that most investors are still massively underestimating the potential of AI as AGI and superintelligence come to be. Looking into Situational Awareness’s portfolio, there are clues as to where the next big opportunities could be as the next stages play out. As of the first quarter, the hedge fund made some notable buys.
Betting on the neoclouds
Neocloud firm Neibus (NASDAQ:NBIS | NBIS Price Prediction) was a huge addition, which now comprises 38.89% or so of the portfolio. Given shares have gained more than 950% in the past two years, it might come as a surprise to see Leopold adding such a hefty amount to the AI data center newcomer. The backlog growth has been off the charts, and it warrants a healthy dose of skepticism.
When you consider who stands behind such contracts, though, it becomes more apparent that Nebius can back its ascent and premium multiple with the fundamentals. As sell-side analysts race to upgrade their price targets, perhaps it’s Nebius’ rapid profitability gains and its positioning at the chokepoint of the AI revolution that makes the seemingly hefty price of admission worth it.
Where some see a GPU renter, others, like Leopold, might see something more. Perhaps it’s the services and infrastructure beyond chips that make Nebius such a standout as the AI revolution looks to start paying up for compute.
Perhaps most importantly, Nebius has the power to keep all those Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPUs running at full speed. Beyond Nebius, Leopold has bet big money on other next-gen neoclouds, like CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), which fit the theme. Dibs on the latest and greatest Nvidia chips and having the power to sell compute might be where the puck is headed in the AI boom.
As we move from GPUs to providers of tokens (and that involves energy, connectivity, servers, and securing everything else needed in addition to chips), I do think that Situational Awareness could continue to stand tall, even as volatility begins to rock some of the more obvious AI winners such as Nvidia.
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Joey is a 24/7 Wall St. contributor and seasoned investment writer whose work can also be found in publications such as The Motley Fool and TipRanks. Holding a B.A.Sc in Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Joey has leveraged his technical background to provide insightful stock analyses to readers.
Joey's investment philosophy is heavily influenced by Warren Buffett's value investing principles. As a dedicated Buffett disciple, Joey is committed to unearthing value in the tech sector and beyond.
