Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Forced Sell-Off Sparks AI Stock Rebound

The mid-July market turbulence saw AI-linked names like SanDisk, Bloom Energy, and CoreWeave plummet alongside broader tech sell-offs in Google, Meta, and chipmakers like TSMC. The downward pressure was exacerbated by heavy capital expenditure on compute infrastructure, leaving funds exposed to cooling sentiment. The momentum shifted abruptly when Aschenbrenner, facing margin calls, offloaded his public equity holdings. Citadel emerged as the primary buyer, absorbing the portfolio and catalyzing a sharp recovery that lifted sector valuations.

Despite the sudden spike, the gains proved insufficient to recover July’s deeper deficits. Whale Rock Capital, which entered the month with significant gains from the first half, saw its positions in SanDisk and Bloom Energy remain down 45% and 30% respectively by Friday. Similar patterns emerged at Atreides Management and Altimeter Capital, where rebounds in CoreWeave only partially offset earlier losses. Major Tiger Cub funds, including Coatue and Tiger Global, saw their holdings in TSMC and Lam Research benefit from the market-wide frenzy, yet most remain on track to close the month in negative territory.