Leopold Aschenbrenner

Extracted Attributes

• Education

  Columbia University (BA, Valedictorian, 2021); John F. Kennedy School in Berlin

• Occupation

  AI Researcher, Investor

• Nationality

  German

• Notable Work

  Situational Awareness (2024 essay)

• Year of Birth

  2001 or 2002

• Former Employer

  OpenAI

• Discrepancy Note

  Wikidata lists a birth date of 1920-09-20 and death date of 2009-04-09 for an ornithologist of the same name; Wikipedia and news sources specify the AI researcher was born in 2001 or 2002.

Timeline

• Graduated as valedictorian from Columbia University at age 19. (Source: Web Search)

  2021-01-01

• Served on the FTX Future Fund team until the organization collapsed in late 2022. (Source: Web Search)

  2022-11-01

• Joined OpenAI as a researcher on the Superalignment team. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-01-01

• Fired from OpenAI over an alleged information leak, which he disputes. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-04-01

• Published 165-page essay titled 'Situational Awareness' and co-founded hedge fund Situational Awareness LP. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-01-01

• Faced a margin call after excessive leverage during a market selloff in tech stocks, resulting in Citadel purchasing part of Situational Awareness LP's public stock portfolio. (Source: Document 45d0d913-4c14-4249-8c25-f8a5e5e88af0)

  2024-01-01

Leopold Aschenbrenner

Leopold Aschenbrenner (born 2001 or 2002) is a German artificial intelligence researcher and investor. He was part of OpenAI's "Superalignment" team before he was fired in April 2024 over an alleged information leak, which Aschenbrenner disputes. In 2024, he published an essay titled "Situational Awareness" about the emergence of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and related security risks. The essay attracted widespread media and industry attention, and became the namesake for Aschenbrenner's $20 billion AUM (at peak) hedge fund, Situational Awareness LP, which invests in private and public companies involved in AI.

Web Search Results

• Leopold Aschenbrenner

  Leopold Aschenbrenner (born 2001 or 2002) is a German artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and investor. He was part of OpenAI's "Superalignment" team before he was fired in April 2024 over an alleged information leak, which Aschenbrenner disputes. In 2024, he published an essay titled "Situational Awareness" about the emergence of artificial general intelligence and related security risks. The essay attracted widespread media and industry attention, and became the namesake for Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness LP, which invests in companies involved in the development of AI technology. ## Early life [edit] [...] German AI researcher | Leopold Aschenbrenner | | Born | 2001 or 2002 (age 24–25) Germany | | Education | Columbia University (BA) | | Occupations | AI researcher Investor | | Employer | OpenAI (2023–2024) | | Notable work | Situational Awareness | [...] Jump to content Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia Search ## Contents (Top) 1 Early life 2 Career + 2.1 OpenAI + 2.2 Investment firm 3 Situational Awareness essay 4 Personal life 5 References 6 External links # Leopold Aschenbrenner Afrikaans العربية Deutsch 한국어 Edit links Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikiquote Wikidata item Appearance From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia German AI researcher | Leopold Aschenbrenner |

• Leopold Aschenbrenner | Speaking Fee | Booking Agent

  ## ## Leopold Aschenbrenner Biography Leopold Aschenbrenner is a German artificial intelligence researcher and investor best known for his work on AI alignment and his influential essay Situational Awareness. Raised in Germany, he studied at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin before graduating as valedictorian from Columbia University in 2021 at the age of 19. He later conducted research at Oxford University’s Global Priorities Initiative and co-authored a working paper with Philip Trammell in 2024. Active in the effective altruism movement, he served on the FTX Future Fund team until the organization collapsed in late 2022. [...] Leopold Aschenbrenner is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Leopold Aschenbrenner for your event is available upon request. Leopold Aschenbrenner generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Zack Kass, Eric Boles, Daymond John, Jelly Roll and Rocky Bleier. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Leopold Aschenbrenner for an upcoming live or virtual event. BOOK Leopold Aschenbrenner ## ## ## ## Tell us about your event! During normal business hours, we respond to most inquiries within 4 hours. ### Customized Service [...] Following his exit from OpenAI, Aschenbrenner turned to investing, co-founding an AI-focused hedge fund with Patrick and John Collison, Daniel Gross, and Nat Friedman. Named after his essay Situational Awareness, the fund has grown to manage over $1.5 billion as of 2025. His essay, published in 2024, is a 165-page analysis of the trajectory of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its implications for global security. It forecasts the rise of AGI and the possibility of superintelligence, outlines existential risks, and argues for what he calls “AGI realism.” The essay also warns that the United States must prepare to defend against the misuse of AI technologies by geopolitical rivals, emphasizing the potential for recursive self-improvement and runaway superintelligence.

• Leopold Aschenbrenner Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements

  Booking Fee Range : Travels From : Please Contact See Similar Speakers See Similar Speakers More About Leopold Aschenbrenner ## Leopold Aschenbrenner Biography Leopold Aschenbrenner is a German artificial intelligence researcher and investor best known for his work on AI alignment and his influential essay Situational Awareness. Raised in Germany, he studied at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin before graduating as valedictorian from Columbia University in 2021 at the age of 19. He later conducted research at Oxford University’s Global Priorities Initiative and co-authored a working paper with Philip Trammell in 2024. Active in the effective altruism movement, he served on the FTX Future Fund team until the organization collapsed in late 2022. [...] Following his exit from OpenAI, Aschenbrenner turned to investing, co-founding an AI-focused hedge fund with Patrick and John Collison, Daniel Gross, and Nat Friedman. Named after his essay Situational Awareness, the fund has grown to manage over $1.5 billion as of 2025. His essay, published in 2024, is a 165-page analysis of the trajectory of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its implications for global security. It forecasts the rise of AGI and the possibility of superintelligence, outlines existential risks, and argues for what he calls “AGI realism.” The essay also warns that the United States must prepare to defend against the misuse of AI technologies by geopolitical rivals, emphasizing the potential for recursive self-improvement and runaway superintelligence.

• Leopold Aschenbrenner - Author

  ← Back to all authors Podcast Newsletter Subscribe # Leopold Aschenbrenner Leopold Aschenbrenner is a student in economics at Columbia University and a research affiliate at the University of Oxford’s Global Priorities Institute. Follow on Twitter Stay in the Loop Free articles on progress, science, and technology. Delivered to your inbox

• Leopold Aschenbrenner and the Wall Street Lesson Every Genius Learns

  Save Saved This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? . Leopold Aschenbrenner is one of the most knowledgeable people in AI. But he was just schooled on a fundamental Wall Street truth: Being the smartest person in the room doesn't stop you from getting your face ripped off. In fact, sometimes it helps get you there. On Thursday, Ken Griffin's Citadel bought a portion of the public stock portfolio owned by Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness, after the fund suffered steep losses during the recent selloff in AI stocks. Situational Awareness is keeping its private investments, including a stake in Anthropic, but a chunk of its public equity portfolio is now in Citadel's hands. [...] Subscribe Log in Tech # The humbling of Leopold Aschenbrenner: The market doesn't care how smart you are. Alistair Barr, global tech editor of Business Insider, smiles at the camera while wearing a blue and white striped shirt. By Alistair Barr You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Author of the Tech Memo newsletter Leopold Aschenbrenner, head of hedge fund firm Situational Awareness Leopold Aschenbrenner, head of hedge fund firm Situational Awareness Fortune via Reuters Connect Read in app Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads Impact Link Save Saved [...] Traders really do call it "getting your face ripped off." Griffin was the one doing it this time. I would not have wanted to be on that call. Ouch. Ken Griffin Ken Griffin, head of Citadel. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images This is an extraordinary reversal for a fund that was riding high just a couple of months ago. Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher, became famous after publishing Situational Awareness, a 165-page essay, in 2024. He argued that artificial intelligence would transform the economy far faster than most people expected. He predicted trillion-dollar investments in AI computing, huge new data centers, and growing government involvement in the race to build powerful AI systems. Those predictions now look remarkably accurate.

• Gender

  male

• Instance Of

  Q5

• Occupation

  ornithologist

• Date Of Birth

  9/20/1920

• Date Of Death

  4/9/2009

• Place Of Birth

  Vienna