AI fund Situational Awareness drawdown drags on Jane Street, with July losses reaching $15 billion

Odaily News: Wall Street quantitative trading giant Jane Street suffered losses of approximately $15 billion in the July market selloff due to its investments in AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness and other tech stocks.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that despite the significant drawdown in July, Jane Street's trading revenue this year has already exceeded $40 billion, far surpassing global major banks and other market makers, and exceeding its full-year 2025 trading revenue of $39.6 billion.

In an internal memo to employees, Jane Street confirmed that July was a "rough month" for the firm. The company stated that its investment in AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness, which had expanded positions due to strong performance in the first half of the year, experienced a sharp drawdown during the AI stock selloff, bringing returns on the related investment back to roughly breakeven for the year, though it remains profitable relative to the initial investment.

Situational Awareness, founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, had drawn market attention for its heavy positions in AI-related stocks. After the sharp correction in the AI sector in July, the fund sold most of its stock positions to Citadel, owned by billionaire Ken Griffin, after triggering margin requirements.

Jane Street noted that the losses also stemmed from its long positions in Asian non-AI stocks, which had performed strongly earlier this year. The company said many large memory and semiconductor stocks fell approximately 50% in July, causing drawdowns in its previously well-performing trading portfolio. (Reuters)