Situational Awareness is seeking fresh capital from investors to participate in a funding round for AI infrastructure startup Fluidstack that could value the company at $40bn, just months after leveraged technology bets pushed the fund close to collapse, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The fund, founded by former OpenAI Superalignment researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, is offering existing clients the opportunity to co-invest alongside it in Fluidstack, which specialises in providing computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The proposed valuation is approximately double the level achieved in an earlier funding round, although a Fluidstack co-founder disputed Bloomberg's reporting.
The fundraising follows a turbulent period for Situational Awareness, which faced significant margin calls earlier this year as its public technology investments declined sharply. The firm ultimately sold the majority of its listed equity portfolio to Citadel at a discount to stabilise its finances, having considered selling private holdings including stakes in Anthropic, MatX and Fluidstack.
Despite the setback, Aschenbrenner has continued investing in AI infrastructure, including a $500m investment in semiconductor startup Source Foundry. Situational Awareness previously led an $830m Fluidstack funding round in January, which valued the business at $7.5bn.
Fluidstack's latest capital raising comes amid growing scrutiny of heavily indebted AI infrastructure providers, known as neoclouds, as rising financing costs raise concerns about the sustainability of their expansion. The company has secured significant commercial backing, including a $50bn US data centre development commitment from Anthropic and financial support from Google for infrastructure projects.
The proposed investment highlights Situational Awareness's continued conviction in AI infrastructure despite recent losses, as hedge funds and private capital investors weigh the sector's substantial growth potential against mounting leverage and valuation risks.
