What Happened to Emil Michael?

Emil Michael, born in Cairo, Egypt, began his distinguished career after graduating from Harvard University and Stanford Law School. He held roles at Goldman Sachs and was an executive at Tellme Networks, a speech recognition pioneer, which was sold to Microsoft for approximately $800 million in 2007. His career also included a period of public service as a White House Fellow, serving as a Special Assistant to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates from 2009 to 2011, where he managed projects in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. He later served as Chief Operating Officer of Klout before joining Uber.

Michael joined Uber in September 2013 as Senior Vice President of Business, quickly becoming a key figure and "right-hand man" to then-CEO Travis Kalanick. During his tenure, he played a crucial role in Uber's explosive growth, helping the company raise nearly $15 billion in capital and expanding its operations from 50 to over 1,000 cities across 70 countries. He led significant international partnerships, including the merger of Uber's China operations with Didi Chuxing, and facilitated acquisitions that formed the core of Uber's Advanced Technology Group for autonomous vehicles.

However, Michael's time at Uber was also marked by several high-profile controversies. In November 2014, he suggested spending $1 million to hire researchers to dig up dirt on journalists critical of Uber, specifically targeting Sarah Lacy of PandoDaily. He was also implicated in a 2014 incident involving a South Korean escort bar visit by Uber executives and later attempted to cover it up. Furthermore, his name appeared among executives who allegedly obtained and reviewed the medical records of a rape victim in India. These incidents contributed to a turbulent period for Uber, culminating in Michael's departure in June 2017, following recommendations from an investigation into the company's workplace culture led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

After leaving Uber, Michael continued his involvement in the tech and business sectors as an angel investor and advisor to over 50 startups globally. He also served as Chairman and CEO of DPCM Capital. His expertise in deal-making and scaling technology companies remained a prominent aspect of his career.

In December 2024, Michael was nominated by President Donald Trump as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 14, 2025, becoming the Pentagon's Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this critical role, he is responsible for ensuring the U.S. military's technological superiority. Since his confirmation, Michael has undertaken significant reforms, including reducing the Department of War's 14 "critical technology areas" to a more focused set of six priorities: applied artificial intelligence, quantum and battlefield information dominance, biomanufacturing, contested logistics technology, scaled hypersonics, and scaled directed energy.

As of March 2026, Michael is actively shaping the Department of War's AI strategy. He announced a partnership with Google to deploy Gemini AI agents across the Pentagon's unclassified networks to automate routine tasks. Concurrently, he has taken a firm stance against AI lab Anthropic, labeling it a "supply-chain risk" and halting negotiations due to concerns over leaked information and "bad faith" tactics, emphasizing the Pentagon's need for control over military applications of technology. He is also a prominent speaker, headlining events like the 2026 eMerge Americas Conference to discuss accelerating AI deployment in national security.