Situational Awareness Seeks Investors to Back Fluidstack at $40 Billion Valuation

Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness is pitching investors on a funding round that would value neocloud startup Fluidstack at $40 billion, according to Bloomberg. The move represents a significant step up from Fluidstack's last known valuation of $18 billion, which the British AI infrastructure startup reached after closing a $1.5 billion round led by Jane Street earlier in 2026.

Situational Awareness, which Aschenbrenner built from roughly $250 million in 2024 into a fund that at its peak managed around $45 billion using heavy leverage, has been seeking to rebuild its position in AI private markets after a turbulent stretch that included steep losses and a forced unwind of its public stock holdings in mid-2026. The Fluidstack fundraise pitch marks the fund's continued focus on AI infrastructure as a core investment theme.

Fluidstack's $40 billion target valuation drew attention across AI infrastructure equities, with market observers flagging potential read-throughs for listed neocloud and AI compute peers including CoreWeave and Iris Energy.