CoinDesk
Leopold Aschenbrenner, the former OpenAI researcher who was dismissed from the company in 2023, has raised $1.5 billion for a new sovereign-AI investment fund targeting crypto miners as a near-term power-infrastructure play.
The fund, dubbed Anchored and backed by Strive Asset Management, will deploy capital into mining operators and power assets positioned to convert to AI compute workloads. Aschenbrenner's thesis frames crypto miners as undervalued holders of grid-connected power capacity — a scarce input as hyperscalers race to secure energy supply for training and inference.
Why it matters
The raise is one of the largest single theses publicly linking AI compute demand to crypto-mining infrastructure, and it carries weight well beyond the dollar figure because of who is making it. Aschenbrenner became a prominent voice on AI-driven GDP acceleration while at OpenAI, and his 2024 essay "Situational Awareness" became a touchstone for the "AI industrial complex" narrative. A $1.5B vehicle turning that thesis into deployed capital against mining names reframes the sector from speculative cashflow plays into a strategic energy-infrastructure asset class.
Market impact
Public mining equities already trade partly on the power-conversion narrative; a dedicated fund of this size materially raises the ceiling on the thesis by adding a credible institutional bid. Watch listed miners with contracted power capacity and management teams that have publicly telegraphed HPC / AI conversion plans — those names are the most direct expression of the trade. The underlying bet is structural: power capacity is the binding constraint on AI scaling, and miners already own it.
Frequently asked questions
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Who is Leopold Aschenbrenner?
A former OpenAI researcher dismissed in 2023 who became a prominent voice on AI-driven economic acceleration, notably through his 2024 essay "Situational Awareness."
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What is the Anchored fund?
A $1.5 billion sovereign-AI investment vehicle backed by Strive Asset Management that will deploy capital into crypto miners and power assets positioned to convert to AI compute workloads.
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Why target crypto miners specifically?
Aschenbrenner frames miners as undervalued holders of grid-connected power capacity — the scarce input hyperscalers are racing to secure as AI training and inference demand grows.
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How does this affect listed mining stocks?
A dedicated fund of this size adds a credible institutional bid to a sector that already partly trades on power-conversion narratives, materially raising the ceiling for miners with contracted power and HPC / AI conversion plans.
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What is the $13.6B figure in the headline?
Only $1.5B of raised capital is verifiable from the source. The $13.6B likely represents total fund ambition including leverage or undisclosed commitments and should be treated as forward guidance until confirmed.
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