Goldman earned fees of over $200m from Situational Awareness

Goldman Sachs has earned over $200 million in fees this year from Situational Awareness, making it the largest prime brokerage client for the AI-focused hedge fund among prime brokerage clients, according to the Financial Times. Situational Awareness, founded in 2024 by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher with no prior trading experience, has grown rapidly since its inception.

The fund, which has grown from a few hundred million dollars in assets to over $20 billion, has been among Goldman's biggest clients this year, alongside other established multi-strategy firms such as Citadel and Millennium. The fees generated for Goldman have been driven by Situational Awareness's rapid expansion and the highly leveraged nature of its trading strategies.

Despite initial returns of over 400%, the fund suffered substantial losses following a sharp selloff in AI-linked stocks. To mitigate the impact, Situational Awareness sold most of its public-market positions to Citadel, where Goldman was among its principal lenders. JPMorgan Chase also provided financing but later ceased lending to the fund.

Aschenbrenner announced in July that the fund would stop using borrowed money to increase its investment positions. This decision is expected to reduce future financing fees for Goldman, although the bank has already collected over $200 million during 2026. Situational Awareness remains a client of Goldman, and Aschenbrenner has established a trading relationship with Clear Street, a technology-focused brokerage.

Following the sale of its public-market portfolio, Aschenbrenner expressed his intention to continue investing and learn from the losses, with Situational Awareness now focusing on building new positions in technology stocks.