Emil Michael, the primary Pentagon official responsible for overseeing military artificial intelligence policy, has sold his stake in the AI search engine company Perplexity, The Guardian reported. Financial records indicate the sale occurred in June and was valued between $5m and $25m. Because federal financial disclosures provide broad dollar ranges rather than exact figures, it remains unclear whether he made a profit on this specific transaction.
This divestment follows a series of high-value financial moves by Michael during his time in federal service. Earlier this year, disclosures revealed he profited from his investment in Elon Musk’s xAI, seeing gains between 400% and 4,800% after selling his holdings in January. These transactions have sparked a conversation about the intersection of personal wealth and government oversight in the fast-moving AI sector.
