According to TechCrunch, citing The Wall Street Journal, Situational Awareness expanded its stake in Source Foundry with a fresh $400 million transaction, bringing its total backing to $500 million. Founded by Stanford researchers, Source Foundry designs methods to make semiconductor manufacturing faster and more affordable.

The investment comes shortly after a challenging period for Situational Awareness. Founded in 2024 by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, the fund recently suffered heavy losses during a downturn in AI infrastructure stocks. In late July, the firm sold most of its public portfolio to Citadel, though it retained its private stake in Anthropic. Consequently, the fund's assets under management dropped from $20 billion down to $10 billion.

Semiconductor hardware remains a vital bottleneck in modern computing development. By directing capital to startups focused on lowering manufacturing costs and accelerating production cycles, investors aim to address persistent supply constraints. For Situational Awareness, continuing big venture bets demonstrates an ongoing commitment to early-stage deep-tech infrastructure despite massive liquid portfolio liquidations and market volatility.

Situational Awareness is maintaining an aggressive private market strategy under Leopold Aschenbrenner. While liquid assets were severely curtailed, the $400 million deal underscores high investor faith in novel semiconductor manufacturing solutions.