Pentagon AI Chief Sold $5 Million-$25 Million in Perplexity Stock Amid Ethics Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 1
Pentagon AI Chief Sold $5 Million-$25 Million in Perplexity Stock Amid Ethics Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 1
Summary
June disclosures show Emil Michael sold between $5 million and $25 million of Perplexity stock while serving as the Pentagon’s top military AI policy official.
Those filings also show Michael had received a $250,000-$500,000 personal loan from Perplexity in 2024 and had served on its advisory board before entering government.
The records do not show whether he profited on the Perplexity sale or whether the shares were vested or unvested, though his ethics agreement said he would not profit from unvested stock.
Ethics expert Richard Painter said the holdings may not have broken the law but should have been sold before Michael took the job; the Pentagon said he is in full compliance with ethics rules.
The sale follows Michael’s earlier xAI windfall of up to $24 million and a separate Brex sale worth at least $5 million, widening scrutiny of his private tech investments while in office.