Top Pentagon AI Official Sold Millions in Perplexity Stock, Disclosures Show
Pentagon tech chief Emil Michael sold his Perplexity AI stake in June for an estimated $5 million to $25 million, after stepping down from Perplexity’s advisory board and joining the Trump administration. He had also sold an xAI stake on Jan. 9 for the same range, after entering government with holdings valued at $500,000 to $1 million; the xAI sale followed an ethics divestiture certificate and came days after the Pentagon signed an agreement to deploy Grok on classified networks. Michael also disclosed a personal loan from Perplexity before taking office. The disclosures come as he has helped lead the Pentagon’s crackdown on Anthropic, which was later blocked by a federal judge as an illegal retaliatory blacklist. Ethics critics say he should have divested before government service, while the Pentagon says he is in compliance. Perplexity is reportedly seeking new funding at a valuation above $30 billion.
