'Big Short' investor closes hedge fund Scion Capital after billion-dollar AI bets

Michael Burry, the investor who gained fame after being featured in "The Big Short" — the film about the 2008 financial crisis — has closed his hedge fund Scion Capital amid growing Wall Street concerns about inflated tech and AI valuations.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database, Scion Capital was listed as "terminated" earlier this week.

Burry had recently placed billion-dollar bets against software company Palantir and semiconductor giant Nvidia, as market specialists increasingly worry that AI-related stocks have become overvalued, potentially creating a dangerous bubble. 

These concerns are amplified by mounting questions about whether tech giants can sustain the enormous costs of competing in artificial intelligence.

Big Short

"My estimation of value in securities is not now, and has not been for some time, in sync with the markets," Burry wrote in an October 27 letter obtained by multiple US media outlets.

Burry first made his reputation by correctly predicting the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, when a US housing bubble nearly collapsed the global financial system. 

His story was immortalised in Michael Lewis's bestselling book The Big Short and the subsequent film adaptation, where Christian Bale portrayed the contrarian investor.

"Sometimes, we see bubbles. Sometimes, there is something to do about it. Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play," Burry posted on X in late October.

Since 2008, Burry has repeatedly warned of new speculative bubbles, though his predictions haven't always materialised.