Citadel Buys ~$16B AI Stock Portfolio from Situational Awareness After Margin Calls

Citadel bought roughly $16 billion in equities from Situational Awareness, the AI-focused hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. The fund grew from $225 million at its 2024 launch to $20 billion at peak, returning 439% in H1 2026 before leveraged AI bets triggered margin calls and forced liquidations in July 2026.