As AI Bubble Concerns Mount, Investors Reluctant to Abandon the Bet Despite Growing Doubts

Leopold Aschenbrenner's $45 billion hedge fund collapsed into a $10 billion ruin in a matter of days in July 2026, crystallizing what many investors had begun privately acknowledging: the gap between AI infrastructure spending and actual returns is dangerously wide. Yet the spectacular failure of the former OpenAI researcher's Situational Awareness fund—which fell victim to margin calls after betting heavily on semiconductor and data center stocks with up to 400% leverage—has not triggered the broader reckoning with AI valuations that some observers predicted. Instead, investors are caught between two contradictory impulses: pointing out the cracks in the AI economy while remaining deeply wary of withdrawing capital too early from infrastructure that could yet power transformative returns.