Emil Michael, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Research and Development and the Pentagon's chief technology officer, sold his shares in Perplexity in June for an amount ranging from $5 million to $25 million, according to financial disclosures reviewed by The Guardian. Before joining Donald Trump's administration, Michael was part of the advisory board for the AI startup. Earlier this year, he also divested his stake in xAI for up to $25 million.